Never Since The Founders Four
by TheScarlettSecret
Summary: ...Were whittled down to three, have the houses been united as they once were meant to be. When Hogwarts is emptied of it's staff, the older students must learn to survive on their own while figuring out what happened. Pre HPB. HGDM HPGW RWLT.
1. Stifled Laughter

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters, they all belong to J.K. Rowling.

Chapter One: Stifled Laughter

Sirius took the steps up to the Order's head quarters slowly and loudly, as the soles of his worn out boots slammed down angrily. He cringed as a wall of rainwater soaked him to the bone with a splash as the Knight Bus rocketed through a puddle in order to get away from the fuming wizard. He glanced down at his new, maroon cloak, now sopping wet with dirty rainwater, and resignedly added the moment to the quickly growing list of things-gone-wrong that had happened today. He glared at the air ahead of him as if it would do a trick before he reached out a soot-covered hand and opened the tickle-me-pink colored door. The paint color had been Tonks' idea.

As he entered the foyer of the Order of the Phoenix Headquarters, he let the front door slam behind him, notifying all occupants of both his entrance and his foul mood. He trudged down the hard wood floors of the hall, his feet squashing uncomfortably in his boots as he left a trail of angry puddles in his wake. His frown deepened as he heard a stifled giggle from somewhere above him, and people turned to look at him, or rather, his head, as he continued to stomp by and ignore their stares. No one said a word, and Sirius was glad. He wasn't in the mood to talk to anyone right now. Not with those… _things _on his head! No one would take him seriously.

He had almost reached his destination and was just reaching out to grasp the doorknob, when it opened without his assistance. Tonks herself stood in the doorway, blocking his passage nonchalantly, as if not noticing the manner of his mood.

"Moovoutheway," Sirius grumbled, not bothering to form real words.

Tonks stood there, one hand on her hip, as her green eyes took him in, and raised a thin eyebrow. "I like them, but they aren't quite… well, you, you know?" She put a hand to her chin and continued, "And you _do _know they clash with that new cloak, right? It's nice, by the way."

Her critiques were left unanswered as Sirius gave her a deadly, menacing glare. Silence and tension both filled the air, and onlookers were ready for a very vibrant, colorful outbreak of words on Sirius's part, and were somewhat relieved when Tonks moved aside gracefully.

"All right, all right." She waved her arms to the side, as if she were part of a game show and the door was Sirius's grand prize. She even changed from spiked, pink hair to the flowing, golden blonde that supermodels dream of for the occasion.

Sirius entered the maroon-colored bathroom without vocalizing his thanks. He slammed the door again, not taking in the new gold finishing or the textured wallpaper someone had put in recently. Instead, he gazed into the mirror silently, a scowl darkening his face. Today was not his day. His black hair was in clumps from the rainwater, still sopping wet. There were spots of mud on one cheek, and a swipe of dirt on the other, and the parts of his face he hadn't covered with his hands were black with soot that wouldn't rub off. His lips were pale and thin from the scowl he wore, and his green eyes had lost their usual humor, and were now dark and glinted dangerously as he eyed the two new additions to his head.

His attention was diverted from his head to the reflection of a portrait on the wall behind him when the auburn-haired witch featured inside it spoke. She was smiling slightly; her auburn curls bouncing as she shook her head and said, "Really, Sirius. I thought you would have had enough attention in your lifetime. I mean, did you really have to go and add the bunny ears?"

"_I _didn't add them," Sirius growled, his attention turning back to the two bright pink ears sprouting from the crown of his head. "I have some seventh-year scoundrels back at the Leaky Cauldron to thank for that." Sirius pulled the ears down to the sides of his head and tugged miserably, as if he believed they'd come off. "Tom tried to get them off, but he doesn't know very much magic outside of his line of work, and the little idiots ran off after putting some sort of charm on them so I, myself, can't take them off."

He glared at the mirror, as if wishing them away would work, seeing as tugging didn't. "Got a lot of stares on the Knight Bus."

The witch in the portrait huffed, annoyed, and crossed her arms. "Oh, the Knight Bus. I wish you wouldn't use that thing. You know how I don't like Terrance Knight. An idiot, he is. I fancied him a bit and he didn't have the decency to notice. You know, I saved his life once. Was a fierce battle-"

Sirius cut her off quickly, clearly in no mood for her ramblings. "Where's Lupin? I bet he can get these stupid things off…"

"He's in the second floor study," the witch sulked, glaring at her distant relative, "with a few other of your friends who don't care about my love life." She tossed her head, and turned away, facing out the side of the frame, with her lips puffed out in distain. "Just because _you _were never in love…"

Sirius was out the door before she could say anything else.

Sirius threw the door to the study open and let it hit the wall with a bang. Cloak still dripping and ears bent in the middle, he stood in the doorway for several seconds, agitated when no one looked up from what they were doing to appreciate his mood. Minerva McGonagall and Albus Dumbledore were tucked in a corner, each in their respective chairs, reading over parchments, or, in Ms. McGonagall's case, writing on them. Molly Weasley, used to Sirius's moods, sat in front of the redbrick fireplace, carefully knitting something orange that hadn't quite taken a shape yet. Sirius wasn't sure it ever would, based on his past experiences with her knitting. His quarry, Remus Lupin, sat in a dining chair across from the doorway, intent on beating his opponent, and Mrs. Weasley's significant other, Arthur Weasley, in an intense game of chess.

He waited several more seconds, and when no one responded, he stepped into the room, boots still making strange squishing noises under his weight, reached for the doorknob once again, and slammed the door shut behind him. And waited.

"Interesting look, Sirius," Remus commented, which was odd, seeing has he had never looked up from the chessboard. He seemed to sense his fuming friend wondering about this. "Your friend in the portrait came to warn us. Couldn't stop laughing, that one," he said with a knowing smirk, which Arthur and Dumbledore joined in on. Sirius couldn't see Molly's face, but he was positive there was one there, too. Only Minerva seemed totally involved in her work.

Sirius glared at his old friend. "Did she tell you _why _I have them?"

"Some kids at the Leaky Cauldron, I believe."

"Yes. Seventh years. Idiot kids… they'll never be ready for the real world when it hits them," Sirius complained, sitting down on the old, marigold colored, yet quite comfortable couch. "Sure, they'll pass all their tests with," Sirius paused, and elaborated his next two words by waving his hands and fingers in the air and faking a high-pitched voice, "'flying colors!' But when they get out into the world and are faced with the dangers and upcoming dark wizards and the oh-so dreaded rent, they'll start squirming and coming to us for help. Why should we help _them_, when _this,_" he paused to point at his head, "is what they did to _us_?"

"Checkmate," Lupin said as his queen bashed Arthur's rook to pieces, creating a dumbfounded look on the older Weasley's face. He turned in his chair to meet Sirius's eyes. "You'd be surprised what they're capable of. They are, and will be, one of the smartest classes Hogwarts has ever turned out."

"That's just because of Hermione. She brings everyone's average grade up. And you know that," Sirius rebutted.

"Take her away, and the grade averages do go down a bit, I grant you that, but even then, this class is remarkably good," Remus said, sounding a bit impressed.

Mr. Weasley nodded his head at each point, considering and weighing the arguments, and muttering things like, "Yes, yes." And "true, so true" under his breath.

"Oh, posh. They're idiots, the lot of them."

"Now, you know that isn't true."

"Yes, it is. They go around doing _this_," Sirius pointed at his ears again, growing visibly more uptight, "for fun! I saw them sneaking around Madame Malkin's with creations from that new joke shop in the alley! They have no idea what the word '_responsibility' _even means! They have us waiting on them hand and foot every day of their lives! 'Oh, great job Potter', 'Positively marvelous, Malfoy'," Sirius said, mimicking the teachers again as Ms. McGonagall glared from her corner. "'Just try a bit harder next time, you'll get it!' Only the 'next time' will be on their own, without us to back them up when a spell goes wrong, or the under-brewed potion tips over!"

"That's just because they haven't had a chance to live on their own! We've been nursing them forever, thinking that they can't, or won't be able to live on their own if we let them out of our grasps. But they really can. They only rebel because they're tired of being nursed. That's why this is the students' last year at Hogwarts before we let them go. Give them a chance, one single chance, and they'd be able to take fine care of themselves," Remus told Sirius, keeping a calm appearance and steady voice, quite contradictory to Sirius, who was now standing up, and throwing his hands in the air as he spoke.

His pink ears now stood on end as his temper rose, already fueled by the day's events and not ready for another disagreement. "Complete rubbish, the lot if it! They're all gits! You've lost your mind! They must be bewitching you! The Remus Lupin _I_ know would never say such things! You know that's not true!"

"Oh, Sirius," Mrs. Weasley said, trying to butt in and calm them down.

Remus stood up, too, to be on equal footing with his friend-become-rival. "If we were to just- leave," the werewolf said, throwing his hands a bit for exclaimation, "them for a month or so, they'd be just fine. Trust me, I've worked with them. They're really quite remarkable children."

"See? You just said it! They're _children_," Sirius stepped forward, inches from Remus's calm face, and glared at him with the same death wish he sent Tonks earlier.

His wet, soggy cloak had left its mark on the couch, and was now dripping at a much slower pace. With the overall wetness of him, the mud on his face, and the glint in his eyes, he looked like he just got out of a fistfight in the alleyway. The way he looked up slightly at Remus, who was about three inches taller, and stood defiantly under him, despite his circumstances, he looked almost frightening. Almost. The thing that tipped the scales was the frilly pinkness of the bunny ears, which took away quite a lot from the image of fist-fighting, ex-convict madman that was otherwise present.

"And even in three months, they wouldn't be able to handle themselves. They'd probably end up killing themselves instead of the boggarts and flobbleworms and whatever else you teach them about in that school."

"Flobberworms, Sirius, and I'm sure they could even fight off a dementor if they had the chance."

"Don't even start with dementors," Sirius seethed, squinting his eyes. "You're just an immune, stupid git."

"I can't believe you've sunk so low as name-calling, Sirius," Remus said, a stone look upon his face.

"Believe it," Sirius retorted, as his robes finally stopped dripping.

The two former-marauders stood in the center of the silent room. Molly had turned around to watch the fight, as had Arthur, after he figured out what he'd done wrong in the game. Albus had watched curiously, and even Minerva had looked up from her parchment a couple of times. Now they all watched as the two old friends stood unmoving, waiting for the other to break their gaze first.

In the back of the room, Dumbledore had that familiar glint in his eyes that often reminded Remus and Sirius of their time as the Marauders of the Hogwarts school grounds.

"Minerva."

All eyes flew quickly to Dumbledore, including those of Remus and Sirius, and the two standing shifted weight nervously when they saw the look in his eyes, which sparkled behind his half-moon glasses. A small smile played humbly upon his lips as it so often did as he was forming a plan.

"Yes, headmaster?" Ms. McGonagall replied, still not quite used to these schemes of his, even after all her years of teaching under him.

"Will you please call a staff meeting in the great hall for tomorrow morning at nine, while I attend to our friend here? Oh, and would you mind contacting "Animaux Mystiques", to see how busy they are in September? You know, that newly opened school?" Dumbledore asked, and, upon seeing the look fellow teacher had, he added, "They're in France," as if it would clear up the whole business.

"No problem, sir," Ms. McGonagall said, slightly confused. "Should I expect to be seeing you at dinner?"

"No, no… I think I shall take a stroll. Still a few kinks here and there," the headmaster said rather absentmindedly as he waved his wand and muttered a few words to try to de-ear Sirius. With that, he picked up the ends of his light blue, starry cloak and walked out the door, stroking his beard and muttering to himself, "Yes, yes… that will do… that will most certainly do…"

The four people left in the room looked at each other nervously.

"Well, what do you have to say for yourself, Sirius?" Mrs. Weasly asked. "You're going to start a whole new chapter Hogwarts, a History. And I'm not sure it will be a good one," she said, fixing him with a glare.

The other two men turned to look at Sirius, who looked down at his shoes, which were no longer wet, thanks to the headmaster. He turned his toes inward and looked up at his audience.

"Oops?"


	2. The Sorting Hat

A/N: Thanks so much to my two awesome betas, Neecoh and Kirei, you guys are awesome! Also thanks to my two reviewers, Elise Bentwin and Krystal, for taking the time to both review and boost my ego, which I'm not sure my friends will appreciate. But I do. Very much. So thanks!

Disclaimer: So far I only own the plot bunny, which is a shame, seeing as it keeps biting me. It seems to prefer human flesh to a carrot. Maybe if I fed it pudding…

Chapter Two: The Sorting Hat's Song

The staff slowly leaked into the great hall the next morning, grumbling and complaining about the time, seeing as students weren't the only ones who welcomed the extra sleep of summer. Of course, none of them found it to be so bad as they said it was, but all were still very appreciative nonetheless when they found steaming hot coffee in mugs bearing the Hogwarts emblem being served at the table. The large, rounded, wooden table took the place of the usual four house tables, and had been placed in the center of the room. If anyone bothered to notice, they'd see that there were enough chairs for all the staff, and not a single extra.

As the clocks around the school chimed the hour almost the entire staff was present. Dumbledore strode in on the ninth chime, wearing sky-blue robes bearing silver stars that seemed to move around in the corner of your eyes when you weren't looking at them, and a tall, pointed hat with the same magical design. When the staff saw his azure eyes twinkling dangerously behind the half moon glasses he wore, they either shifted apprehensively or waited impatiently for him to speak the plan he'd so obviously thought up.

"My friends," the headmaster said with a nod, scanning the room, "Thank you for joining me this lovely morning. Please, please, do have a seat." Dumbledore gestured toward the table in front of him, sitting down as he finished speaking.

"It has been brought inadvertently to my attention that some think that our older students will be incapable of taking care of themselves when the school year end and they are out on their own," Dumbledore explained to his audience. Heads nodded around the circle in agreement.

"They have shown to be rather immature," commented Professor Sprout, slowly, with a slight frown.

"_Rather immature_?" Filch quoted. He, too, had been summoned, and hadn't liked it one bit. It was enough to live here half the year with the little pests running around throwing dung bombs in every corner and throwing hexes this way and that, but to have to visit during his break was something he absolutely detested doing. But it got the bills paid and he had food and housing for half the year, so it really did work out for him. "The oldest of the pes- I mean, students- are always the most immature! For the first few years they're nervous, in the next few they're wearing down, playing a few tricks, but by seventh year they think they're so good, so smart, so brave, they do the stupidest things!"

"Really, now?" Professor Binns said curiously and slowly, as one would assume a ghost who taught history would. "They always seem fine in my class…"

Whatever else Professor Binns was going to say was immediately droned out by the words of others as the rest of the table either agreed or disagreed with him. Dumbledore smiled slightly from his seat and watched the discussion for a few minutes, waiting for the right moment to speak. Both sides had now been heard and the discussion was heating up to more of a debate, so he raised his hands, the occupants of the hall falling silent in a matter of seconds.

"It sounds as if my suspicions are correct, and there are a few doubters." Someone started to speak, but the headmaster went on as if he'd heard nothing. "Of course, there are a few who believe the opposite is true," at this, heads also nodded.

"They really can be quite mature at times," Lupin said quietly, not wanting to start another argument, but rather agreeing with Dumbledore. He'd been rehired as the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher when no one else stepped up, which was all the better taking into account that he was considered one of the best DADA teacher Hogwarts had seen in years. Of course, being one of the best _alive _DADA teachers was a definite bonus.

"Which is why I have a proposition," Dumbledore said before anyone could comment on what Lupin had said. Any pair of eyes that had been wandering snapped into position, and locked themselves on the headmaster as he spoke with the simple calmness and softness that gave him the sense of authority he always held about himself.

"It isn't anything, well, _dangerous_, is it, Headmaster?" McGonagall inquired, knowing nothing about this scheme of his except that it required the help of that school in France.

Dumbledore smiled slightly and his eyes sparkled even more at the question. "It all depends on our students, now, doesn't it?" People exchanged glances at the vagueness of his answer.

"You know, maybe the students _are_ mature enough," one of the new teachers said, unsure of where Dumbledore was leading the discussion.

"Now, now, just hear me out," Dumbledore said as he started to explain. "We need to figure out if the students are ready for life out of school in a manner of ways. So what we need to do is see what _they _do in different situations. Like, say, if all the adults and creatures who care for them day-to-day just simply… didn't." Dumbledore shrugged with his hands as he spoke the last word. He noted that his audience was listening intently and chuckled to himself silently. "What I'm proposing is that we leave our students to means of their own for a portion of time- now, don't worry, I have a timetable set up for them." With a flick of his wand and a word spoken under his breath, the timetable he had spoken of now floated in the air in the middle of the circle, magically at the right angle for everyone to see. "If they don't complete the anticipated steps within a few days of the predicted time, we come back and teach them what they didn't do correctly. Don't worry, we won't leave them again, we're just giving them that one chance. That's all they get. If they complete all the steps and are at a standstill, we come back and congratulate them. If they overachieve and fly up the steps, we get to sit back and wait a week and watch what they do."

Dumbledore sat back and looked at the staff, all of who were studying the timetable in front of them, mulling over what he had just suggested.

"Professor," Snape drawled in that terribly boring and slightly accusing voice he so often used before condemning some poor Gryffindor to detention. "I find it rather… irresponsible, for lack of better word, for you to be leaving students alone in a magical castle, just to find out if they're "_mature_" enough, don't you?"

"Ah, yes, it _does_, doesn't it?" Dumbledore said, surprising the potion's master. "Which is why I have another reason up my sleeves, as always." The headmaster winked before continuing. "But first we have a guest speaker, who, hopefully, will clear my thoughts up for you. Now, without further ado…" Dumbledore flicked his wand, and an old, battered hat appeared in the middle of the table, looking quite smug with its self. That is, if a hat can look smug. Because it certainly seemed to pull it off.

"I give you, the Sorting Hat," the headmaster said with that slight smile of his.

"The _Sorting Hat?_" Murmurs flew through the hall from teacher to teacher.

Madame Hooch was the one who finally spoke up. "What will a _hat_, excuse me," she noted to the hat, who merely nodded in acknowledgement, "clear up for us?"

"Perhaps," Dumbledore said with calm authority, "You have forgotten the song it sang two years prior. Some of you hadn't even heard it then." Dumbledore locked eyes with Professor Lupin for a moment. "So I've decided to ask the Sorting Hat to recite a few of the more prominent lines it sang two years ago. If you will…" Dumbledore looked expectantly at the hat, and it cleared its throat.

"Ahem," the Sorting Hat said, straightening itself. The hat spoke it's next words with the authority of someone who'd practiced them over and over. It's voice filled the great hall, daring people to attempt to speak over its clear, perfected words.

"_So Hogwarts worked in harmony_

_For several happy hears_

_But the discord crept among us_

_Feeding on our faults and fears._

_The Houses that, like pillars four,_

_Had once held up the school,_

_Now turned upon each other and,_

_Divided, sought to rule._

_And for a while it seemed the school_

_Must meet an early end_

_What with dueling and with fighting_

_And the clash of friend on friend,"_ the Sorting Hat recited from memory. Silence filled the hall as they waited for that hat to continue. And it did.

"_And never since the founders four_

_Where whittled down to three_

_Have the houses been united_

_As they once were meant to be,"_ a soft murmur once again filled the hall, but quieted as the hat spoke its last verses.

"_Though I must fulfill my duty_

_And must quarter every year_

_Still, I wonder whether sorting_

_May not bring the end I fear._

_Oh, know the perils, read the signs,_

_The warning history shows,_

_For our Hogwarts is in danger_

_From external, deadly foes_

_And we must unite inside her_

_Or we'll crumble from within._

_I have told you, I have warned you._

_Now let the sorting begin."_

Silence met the hat's words as the staff mulled over the truths and assumptions it spoke.

"So, are you saying, sir, that if we do this, the houses would unite?" Professor McGonagall inquired under a scrutinizing gaze.

"Yes, I do believe they would end up relying on each other, eventually uniting into one group rather than their current four," the headmaster replied.

Once again, the hall was quiet as its occupants thought things over. It would certainly work…

"No," Ms. McGonagall said simply. "It is too dangerous for the little ones. And what about the first years? They're all excited about, well, their _first year_. Besides, where would we stay?"

"Ah. Both good points, professor, but I have them covered," Dumbledore said, eyes twinkling.

The rest of the meeting went without any more "discussions" or debates as Dumbledore explained the details of his plan to the staff. By the end, no one could find any objections to it, and, honest to say, they were all very anxious to see the students' reactions, as well as actions, when they woke up one morning to see the staff… well, gone, to say it simply. And, as Molly Weasley had foretold, this event was going to most certainly account for another, rather large chapter, in Hogwarts, A History.


	3. King's Cross

Disclaimer: Anything you recognize belongs to JK Rowling. Either that, or you're hallucinating. Or it's déjà vu. Because everything else is mine. Mine. _MIIINE_. cackles madly

A/N: Thank you to my beautiful betas: Amanda (The former Lady Cyllan), Nicole (who remains anonymous), and Julia (whose pen name I am unaware of)! Any grammar mistakes, rambling, awful wording, and spelling errors are completely my fault.

Chapter Three: Kings Cross

Hermione leaned against her upright trunk, which was embellished in gold and maroon, and subconsciously fiddled with the buttons on her new, bleached jean jacket she'd acquired two weeks ago on vacation in Wyoming with her parents. She was overjoyed when she found it was the same color as her white jean pants, and immediately paired the two together. She instinctively checked her pocket to make sure her head-girl badge was still there, not realizing that it was the twelfth time she'd done so in the past three minutes.

Her eyes strained as she tried to find her friends in the mass of students eager to get on the train, and their parents who didn't want to let them go. One woman was sobbing as her eleven-year-old blushing daughter boarded the train for her first year at the school. She shook her head slightly and told herself that she'd go over and help out if the woman didn't stop in a few minutes. Then, as her eyes were once again scanning the crowd, she thought she'd seen a tuff of familiar messy, black hair, but when she blinked he was gone. She squinted her eyes, but she couldn't find him again. Sighing, she leaned back onto the trunk and began fiddling with her buttons again.

The minutes ticked by slowly, and Hermione began to worry. What if the two of them missed the train again? She shuddered slightly as she remembered second year… oh, how on Earth could the two of them have been so stupid? Well, she could see Ron overlooking things, with his usual optimistic view and incomplete understanding of how things worked and the rules behind them… Oh, the rules. Why didn't they get that concept? Harry, on the other hand, why did he always agree to these schemes of Ron's? He ought to be the one holding him back. If only she'd been there…

Hermione was ripped from her thoughts as she saw a mass of messy black hair step through the brick wall. She blinked. Yes, he was still there this time… but the boy- no, he wasn't a boy any longer- the man- must've been six feet tall! That couldn't be Harry… but with another glance, she saw the glasses, the attempt at hiding the scar, the way he carried himself, and corrected herself, smiling broadly. It was _definitely _Harry.

She jumped up and started running towards him, her smile illuminating her face and her eyes dancing with joy as she raced towards her best friend. The crowd before her parted as they saw her racing across the platform. They looked on first in confusion, and then annoyance, but when they saw her final destination- the tall boy with messy hair- small smiles played upon their lips as if they shared a secret.

Harry was trying to calm his snowy owl, Hedwig, when sudden motion caught his eye. He looked up just in time to see a fury of wavy brown hair in white clothes come barreling toward him. As she got closer he recognized the smile and bright eyes, and his face immediately reflected his friend's emotions.

"Hermione!" He greeted, and as she collided with him he swept her into a big hug and spun her around in a complete circle, lifting her feet off the ground. Hermione laughed as she was spun in the air, and hugged him tightly.

"Harry! Oh, Harry, it's so good to see you! You have no idea how much I'd missed you these past weeks while I was on holiday!" Hermione and Harry had been sending Hedwig back and forth like crazy over the summer, and had become so much tighter, strengthening their friendship through secrets, dreams, hopes, and stories of the past. They had started a game where each person had to say one thing about themselves that the other didn't know, and an explanation of some sort behind it. Of course, if the other person sent you something you already knew, you had to send two things back to make up for it. It started out with simple things like favorite ice cream flavours, but turned into something much greater. Now it wasn't just Harry meeting her at the station, but a whole new person.

"I missed you, too, Hermione, so much."

"You've grown way too much, Harry."

"I have?" Harry asked, as if growing were a bad thing.

"Yes," Hermione said, with a small smile on her face. "It'll be much harder to scold you two when you're that much taller than I am."

Harry laughed at the comment. That was Hermione for you. "And you! You've done some growing, too."

"Not enough, apparently," the head girl joked, looking at their height difference.

"You managed to tame your hair, though," Harry said, picking up a strand.

"Oh, boys," Hermione let out a laugh. "You hadn't noticed when, at the end of the year, it started to stop frizzing up so much. Now all it takes is a blow-dryer, some product, and a styling brush, and I'm good to go." Of course, Harry didn't understand much of that, but smiled all the same.

"How were the Dursleys?" Hermione asked in more of a parental tone than anything. She didn't like the Dursleys with the way they'd treated Harry. She learned a lot about them over the summer with the game of hers and Harry's.

"Not too bad, they're more leaving me on my own now. You know I got that job at the bookstore, right?"

"Yes," Hermione affirmed, "Did it go well?"

"Yeah. Great pay, too."

"Any word from Dumbledore?" She asked. She hadn't heard anything, but that didn't mean much, seeing as she wasn't going to be the one fighting off Voldemort in the future.

"No, no," Harry shook his head, "It's quite weird, he usually owls me once a month at least. Must be something big going on."

"Wouldn't be surprised," Hermione commented.

She opened her mouth to say something else, but quickly shut it. Needless to say, she did a very good impression of fish-out-of-water. Harry saw her gaze over his shoulder at the same time he heard a flurry of squawks and yells, and turned to look, smiling at what he saw.

Ron and Ginny had just tumbled out of the wall, the last of the Weasley family to go to Hogwarts, and Ron's owl, Pidwidgeon, had decided to cling to Ron with his toes and try to bring him with as he flew towards the ceiling. Being small as he was, all he was capable of doing was making a commotion. Ginny, too, seemed to be having pet troubles. A familiar orange tabby cat was clinging to the front of Gin's pale green coat, hissing at the disillusioned owl.

Hermione and Harry had gone to Diagon Alley this summer in order to pick up the tabby at a pet shop. The cat was very nice, tamed, and could follow orders if you used the right words. She was unusually playful and made for a great companion for Ginny while she was stuck in the Burrow with all her brothers. The only hitch was that the cat, Kala, was overly protective of her mistress, and saw even the flurry of wings known as Pidwidgeon to be a threat.

Ron managed to get a hold on Pidwidgeon, who stopped his flapping and started sulking as he was unceremoniously stuffed into the cage he'd apparently broken out of. The redheads both let out sighs of relief and nervous smiles as they calmed their pets down and moved from the entryway to the platform.

Harry glanced down at Hermione, and stepped back as she broke into another run. Thankfully, there weren't any crowds in the way this time, since they were already so close to the entrance. He smiled as she first attacked Ron, sending Pidwidgeon into another flapping session, then Ginny, who was slightly more prepared and had let Kala down before she could get squashed in the greeting. Harry could only guess at what Hermione was telling them before she dragged them away towards him.

"Harry!" Ginny called as she saw him, waving furiously.

Harry smiled broadly as she came towards him before dumping her things on the floor and enveloping him in a huge hug.

"Hope the Dursleys weren't too bad," Ginny said in that same caring voice Hermione had used moments ago.

"Nope. They just ignore me mostly. It's kind of nice," Harry said with a small smile as she shook her head slightly. It was funny how girls all thought alike, he thought to himself.

"I don't like them."

"I don't think anyone does," he replied, earning a small laugh out of her.

"Hey, mate!" Ron said, arriving by Harry's side. "How were the hols?"

"Boring, of course," Harry said rolling his eyes. "At least I had Hedwig to send you guys letters."

"Come on, you three! Let's get on the train before all the compartments fill!" Hermione said, starting off towards the Hogwarts Express without them.

"Oi, Hermione!" Ron called, dragging his trunk. "Wait up!"

Harry and Ginny smiled at her brother's antics as he tried to balance everything and catch up with Hermione at the same time. As it turned out, he wasn't so good at multitasking. His trunk turned over in his haste, spilling half his things and leaving Ron in a state of momentary despair before Hermione flicked her wand and repacked it.

"I really ought to learn that spell," Ron muttered to himself before following Hermione onto the train.

"Well, this should be an interesting year," Harry thought as he heaved his trunk onto the train and turned around to help Ginny. Sparks emitted from his hand and his heart flip-flopped when his hand touched hers as he heaved the trunk aboard.

Meanwhile, Ginny was thinking the same thing as she detected a small blush on Harry's face at the physical contact. Yes, it would definitely be an interesting year. She could tell.

The two of them, having encountered a traffic jam in the train's hallway, had lost sight of their companions, and made a point of looking in each compartment to check if they were there. Halfway down the train, the two very tired students found their prey. Ron and Hermione were sitting with Neville and Luna in an otherwise empty booth. Harry opened the door and stuffed their trunks callously into the above compartment, quite sick of them and the space they managed to take up in the train's hallway.

"Hey Neville, hey Luna," Ginny said, which all-in-all was a much better greeting than the grunt Harry gave them while trying to fit all the trunks in along with the bird cages and other various things people thought they might need for the new year.

"Hello," Neville said at the same time as Luna, and they both immediately looked at each other and laughed nervously.

"Does anyone know who the head boy is?" Hermione asked, just remembering her current status.

"Oh!" Ron shouted, and, by taking everyone else by surprise, made them all jump slightly, although not one of them would later admit to it. He dug deeply into his pocket and pulled out a small package, wrapped in a scarlet colored velvety cloth.

He uncovered the cloth with a triumphant smile, his eyes foretold the pride and excitement before he could express the emotions in words as he unfolded the velvet covering, revealing the shining silver badge.

"Mum was so happy," he said, gazing fondly at the metal scrap that meant so much more.

"Oh Ron!" Hermione stood up and gave him the second hug of the day, turning him a faint shade of red that no one but Ginny seemed to notice. She, of course, had seen that shade appear on Ron's face many more times than the rest of them.

"This year will be so exciting!" Hermione let go of him and sat back down as she started rambling off the things that they could do as head girl and boy, and was just getting to the point of reminding him not to abuse his status as the door to their compartment opened.

"I see the Weasel and Mudblood both got their wishes. Pleased Mum, did it Weasel?" Draco said upon opening the door and seeing the flash of silver in Ron's hands. Although the trademark smirk was flittering on his face, he couldn't help the feeling of disappointment in himself, wishing he bore the badge that Ron was holding so fondly.

Ron glared at Draco and his lackeys, and seeing as Draco was waiting for a response, replied with a brisk "Yes".

Hermione watched the interaction, wand at the ready in the case that she'd get a reason to hex the boy into oblivion as they had at the end of fifth year. She noticed suddenly that Harry, Ginny, and Neville also had their wands out. Luna was looking up from another magazine, and Ron's eyes were filled with loathing as he anticipated the flurry of words that would no doubt hurt his pride again. They'd done nothing but that for the past six years, he had no reason to think that this would be a different case.

Seeing the circumstances, Draco surprised not only himself, but also the rest of the room, when he nodded his head and said, "Congratulations." He realized his mistake and wondered what could have brought it on, and quickly set upon redeeming himself and his pride.

"Not that it would be hard thing to do, pleasing your mum. After all, your father managed to do it."

With a whoosh of robes, Neville had stood up and whipped his wand out, pointing smack dab in the middle of Draco's face before any of them realized what had happened. Draco stiffened noticeably as he realized the wand in his face.

"Out." Neville spoke clearly and confidently. "Get out."

Draco took a small step back, and Neville quickly swung the door into his face. The compartment was silent at this outburst of confidence of Neville, and the only sound in the room was the quiet click that was amplified by the silence.

Neville lowered his wand, his back still turned to his friends.

"Did… did I just do that?" This time his voice lacked all confidence. He turned around to face the room, and upon seeing their faces, concluded that he must've. Either that or he'd suddenly sprouted a tail and a pair of ears. Running a hand through his hair, he assured himself he had neither.

Hermione was the first to break into a huge smile, and was quickly followed by Ginny and the rest of the cabin. Applause quickly filled the room, and died out as Neville turned pink.

"Great job, Neville," Harry said, clapping the disbelieving boy on the back.

"That was bloody brilliant!" Ron said ignoring the look he gained from Hermione for his choice of language.

As the room settled down into its usual noise level and occasional laughter, Hermione surveyed the scene. She couldn't help but notice the glances Ginny and Harry kept shooting each other, and the blush that crept quickly onto Harry's cheeks when Ginny caught him staring. Her gaze then drifted to Neville and Luna, who were in an intense conversation led by Luna on the predicaments a Red-Tailed Quibbin could cause, Neville drinking it all up. Her eyes finally rested on Ron, who was half listening to Harry and Ginny's quidditch conversation, half gazing at his badge. He didn't feel Hermione's eyes on him, and she was slightly glad. He had gotten over his long-term crush on her, as had she, and she didn't want him thinking she had another one on him. She cringed internally at the thought of him having another crush on some poor girl again this year. No, he was like a brother to her, as was Harry, despite their differences and yearly feuds.

She smiled at the thought of a new year, and recollected herself before sitting on the edge of her seat to join in the conversation and wait for the food trolley to make its way down the isle.

A/N: Once again, thank you to my betas. Also, thanks to my reviewers: Elise Bentwin, Krystal, and Whitedragoness. Please, if you've read this and you aren't one of the preceding people, pleasepleaseplease review! This is my first fic, and I want to know what you all think of it. Sorry about updating so late: I just got back from camp a couple of days ago, and haven't had much time to write. Chapter Four is ready, but Chapter Five at least has to be done before I post it. Wish me luck! Lots of Love:

.:The Scarlett Secret:.


	4. Announcements

Disclaimer: As much as I wish it was, it is not mine. But you know this. So why are you reading it again?

A/N: Sorry for the delay. Two weeks of camp and a writer's block didn't help. & Thank you to my beautiful betas: Amanda (The former Lady Cyllan), Nicole (who remains anonymous), and Julia (whose pen name I am unaware of)! Any grammar mistakes, rambling, awful wording, and spelling errors are completely my fault.

Chapter Four: Announcements

Hermione sidestepped out of the flow of students eager to get to the Great Hall, and looked around for Professor McGonagall. She spotted the transfiguration teacher as she made her way across the river of students, shouting at them as she went.

"Fanged Frisbees are _not _allowed, Mister Corner! Excuse me, Colin. Nice to see you, Eleanor. No more fighting, or I'll give you a detention, Mister Crabbe. Mister Weasley, are you coming or not?"

Hermione noted that the teacher was less formal with students she knew well and those who actually paid attention in her class. She could hear the stress in her voice before she could see it in her face. The teacher was tight-lipped, tired, and frustrated. Her usually tightly bound hair was loosened, and her hat crooked. She strode out of the flow, and immediately straightened her hat and took a deep breath, letting the frustration flow out of her system. The lines on her face decreased, but Hermione could still see the signs of stress written all over.

"Something wrong, professor?" She asked, hoping to hear what had, or was going to, happen.

McGonagall looked surprised at the adeptness of her student, but quickly recovered.

"No, no, nothing for you to be worrying about, dear. Just a few changes in the school is all…"

Hermione opened her mouth to say something, but was cut off as Ron approached.

"There you are, Mister Weasley," McGonagall said quickly, "Let's get going, you two. The first years will be arriving soon, and we can't leave Hagrid to direct them here by himself. They'll no doubt get lost… one always does, it seems…" the professor seemed to mutter that last part to herself as they set off down the corridor, leaving each to his or her own thoughts.

They made their way to where the boats were already docked, and Hermione took great pride in helping the first years as they gazed in awe at the magnificent castle before them. Hermione took a moment to herself to reminisce about her first year, but quickly put her thoughts aside to continue the task set before her.

Ron, on the other hand, would have much rather been inside the castle sitting next to Harry, and didn't notice as a pure-blooded first year decided to secure his destiny as a Slytherin by inserting a foul-smelling dung bomb into Ron's pocket, ticking to set off at any moment. And for good measure, he but a fake wand right beside it.

Harry sat in the Great Hall with Ginny and Neville while they waited for Ron and Hermione to get done with their head-duties. People were still filing in, but most were already seated at the various tables, eagerly awaiting the sorting, announcements, and, finally, the feast.

_The rumbling stomachs are proof of that_, Harry thought to himself.

"When are the first years going to get here?" Neville asked, trying to peer over peoples' heads. "I'm starving…"

Harry smiled at the comment in accordance to his previous thoughts. "I'm sure they'll be here soon, Neville."

"Don't you guys remember you first sorting?" Ginny asked wistfully, playing with a lock of her curly hair. It was really getting long now, Harry noticed. She'd grown her bangs out too; they now rested gracefully on her cheeks when she smiled. With layers all the way down, her hair looped in gentle twists much more than it had done before.

Harry was so entranced with the way the light from the flickering candles danced in Ginny's delicate, cinnamon-colored hair, and his longing to touch and play with it, that he didn't notice the blush that crept across Ginny's cheeks as she noticed his gaze, and was shaken rather cruelly from his unrealistic reverie as his two best friends sat down at the table, Ron across from him and Hermione next to him.

"Hey, Harry," Hermione said, her face slightly flushed from the night air. "Looks like a nice bunch this year."

"Nice bunch my a-," Ron noticed the look on Hermione's face and quickly changed his wording, "-uh, my sneak-o-scope… yeah…"

"What'd they do, mate?" Harry said, suppressing laughter.

"Well," Ron answered, speaking a bit more loudly as to gain a larger audience before launching into a wild, rather unrealistic version of went on after a first year had implanted the dung bomb carefully into the head boy's robes. Ron's arms flailed as he retold the story, about how the corridor had suddenly smelled positively dreadful, and how McGonagall was beside him when they figured out where it was coming from, and the only reason he _didn't _have detention for three weeks was because the culprit had been boasting quite loudly about his antics a corridor later.

But, despite his good storytelling, Ron never got any feedback on his story. As soon as he'd finished the far-fetched tale, the doors had creaked open (for dramatic purposes), and the first years followed their transfiguration teacher in a single file line to the front of the hall, all looking mystified and nervous about what was about to ensue.

McGonagall picked up a tattered hat from seemingly nowhere, and placed it on a stool in front of the room. The entire room fell silent as the hat cleared its throat. Well, the entire room except for the first-years, who all gaped at first, but quickly closed their mouths, and pretended they knew this was coming all along.

The Sorting Hat launched into its song, the whole room as its audience. Almost. Hermione Granger was the only one not giving the hat her full-fledged attention. Actually, she wasn't giving it any attention at all. Being the smart witch she was, over the years she had figured out that, in order to gain the most knowledge about the coming year, she oughtn't listen to the hat upon its stool- but at the teachers sitting at their table. They all ended up letting their guard down when they thought everyone else was watching- and listening- to the Sorting Hat. And apparently the new Head Girl was the only one who'd noticed. She looked up and down the table- and was unnerved at what she saw. All of the teachers had a certain look of apprehensiveness, sitting uneasily in their seats.

Professor Sprout looked downright nervous, fiddling with her nails and furrowing her brow. Professor Snape had a newfound look of loathing upon his face- as if disagreeing completely with the world and its countless antics. Professor McGonagall seemed even more stressed- although the dung bomb incident had done nothing to calm her nerves- but mixed in was a dab of nervousness. McGonagall was never nervous… she was always so sure of what was going on… this put Hermione on edge. But what really made her uneasy was the familiar glint in her headmaster's eyes… he was planning something. And she wasn't so sure it would be good.

Before she could finish her thoughts, however, she was snapped back into reality as the Sorting Hat immersed itself in its final verse with authority and much louder tone, as if it knew she hadn't been listening.

"So now I separate another year

But everything comes with a price

We must now come together

Or I fear we shall scatter like mice."

"Eh, not his best," Ron said, criticizing.

"Why's it warning us again? Haven't we already heard all this stuff?" Ginny asked, putting her head in her hands and rubbing her eyes.

"Probably because we haven't 'come together' yet," Hermione answered constructively.

Ginny sighed to herself, "You know, it _was_ a rhetorical question…"

"Though it's a good idea," Harry thought aloud. "I mean, I could always use a few more allies…"

"Slytherins though? Oh, yes, they'd make jolly good allies," commented Ron, his words dripping with sarcasm.

"Oh, Ron," Hermione sighed.

"He's right, you know," Neville leaned into the conversation. "I don't think a Slytherin has ever done anything considerate for anyone in another house, let alone a Gryffindor."

"But what about the other houses? Is there a reason that we shouldn't be friends with the Ravenclaws and the Hufflepuffs?" Hermione questioned them, and when they squirmed in their seats, she knew the answer. "I mean, just because the Slytherins don't seem to believe in inter-house unity, doesn't mean we shouldn't either. We should set an example."

Silence met her words for a moment before Ron spoke up. "Hermione, you know that isn't going to happen any time soon."

With a sigh, Hermione resigned and started paying attention to the Sorting that was ending.

"Wolfe, Mitchell," McGonagall called out.

"That's the one!" Ron stage-whispered so his friends could hear him. "That's the one that put the dung-bomb into my pocket!"

The boy smirked, although he had a long way to go before he could rival Draco's signature smirk, and sat down. He'd barely put the had on his head before it shouted "Slytherin!" and the far table erupted, embracing it's new member as Ron glared at the kid. Hermione wouldn't be surprised if daggers appeared in his line of sight, heading straight towards the boy.

"Zabini, Gwendolyn." The last student left was a small, blonde-haired girl with an oversized cloak. She started walking up to the hat, and immediately stumbled, gaining small chuckles from the audience. With all eyes on her, it was amazing that she didn't turn red. All she did was let out a small giggle and watch her footing as she made her way over to the stool, without stumbling, a smile on her face the entire time.

Draco watched the scene with a smirk on his face, and punched Blaise lightly in the shoulder when his sister stumbled. When she didn't turn the color of Weasley's hair, but instead smiled to the world, he knew that with her pride, and her brother's footsteps to lead the way, she ought to be put into Slytherin without hesitation. Which is why, moments later, a look of confusion crossed his face when the Sorting Hat was still thinking. Of course, Draco's face was nothing compared to poor Blaise's when the sorting hat shouted out "Gryffindor!" and the lion's table erupted with cheers and smirks. Blaise watched, jaw on the floor, as his sister was patted on the back, and welcomed graciously into the arms of his enemies.

"That's too bad, Blaise," Pansy said with a shrug. "Maybe she wasn't so much like you, after all."

"Guess not," was all Blaise managed to get out, still rather stunned by the hat's defiant declaration, before the headmaster stood, ready for his yearly welcoming.

"Ahem." Dumbledore stood at the front of the hall, his arms raised for silence. Immediately, the triumphant Gryffindors settled down into their seats, and the air in the Great Hall changed from warm, welcoming, and wild, to impatient and eager as the students waited for the headmaster's address.

"Students. Welcome, once again, to another year," Dumbledore paused, for dramatic reasons, before continuing, "at Hogwarts. Thank you for the warm welcome for this year's newcomers, I'm sure they all appreciated it. I would also like to welcome back an old friend, who, I hear, was more than willing to take up his previous job as the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Please welcome back Professor Remus Lupin!"

Lupin stood up at the table, a broad smile illuminating his face as he heard the cheers of all the older students who recognized him, and the younger ones who had heard (exaggerated) stories about what he'd taught students, the most popular of them about the boggart, and Neville's reaction to it. With a small nod, he sat back down in his chair, letting Dumbledore once more take possession of the hall's attention.

"I must once again warn you all to take serious precautions to stay safe, both here, in the castle, down in Hogsmede, and back at home. With Voldemort still at large," the headmaster said, ignoring the shudders from a few students at the mention of Voldemort, "we must make sure to be aware of our surroundings and company. Filch has also asked me to announce that there is a strict rule against any products bought from 'Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes' in Diagon Alley. A full list of the prohibited items is available in his office. Now, on a lighter note, I'm sure you all are starving, so please give your attention to Professor McGonagall, who has an important announcement to make, before the feast begins."

Whispers flew from student to student at this last announcement, weaving their way around each other in a delicate dance until the entire hall was filled with the students' thoughts on another professor announcing something during Dumbledore's speech. Any noise in the hall came to a stop, save for a few last whisperers, as the transfiguration teacher stood up, and prepped herself to talk.

Hermione realized, as the head of Gryffindor house was straightening her robes, that this announcement must've been what she was stressed about. Whatever she was going to say, it must be something big.

"Students, this year Hogwarts is going to try something it hasn't done before. Other schools have been starting it up, and we thought it wouldn't hurt to try. This year, the first-, second-, and third-year students will be leaving Hogwarts to go on a visit to _Animaux Mystiques_, in the northeastern corner of France." As the talking started up again, the professor waited until it was silent to go on.

"Animaux Mystiques is a school that specializes in magical animals and their properties, habits, and care. The students will be learning and caring for creatures that the older students have already studied, and will be gone for approximately three weeks, thus covering all material they would in a years time. Half of our staff will be going with them, so you will only have half of your classes, but they will fill your extra periods, too," she added, squashing the hopes of the older students.

"You will have your classes with the other teachers when they get back. We have arranged your schedules so that you will have just as much time in each class as you would any other year. We will be leaving in two days' time. Now, please, enjoy your delayed dinner."

She locked eyes with Dumbledore, who waved his arm, and the food magically appeared on the plates, much to the glee of the first years. The room was immediately filled with delicious aromas and a warm feel as the students plunged into the food put so graciously before them by the house elves. Hermione still hadn't forgotten the last bit about the house elves, and uneasy as she was about it, she had learned to accept their customs, seeing as it obviously made them happy, and helped herself to the food. She reached for the serving spoon associated with a bowl of strawberries, but was cut off as Ron's hand shot out to grab it and dump a pile of the fruit onto his plate, next to a pile of potatoes, corn, gelatin, and turkey.

"You sure you can eat all that, Ron?" Harry asked, following Hermione's amused gaze.

Ron looked down at the food on his plate, then back at Harry with a confused look. "Of course… why wouldn't I?"

Harry just laughed and turned his attention back to his own food before serving himself up another helping of corn. Hermione ate her strawberries subconsciously- her mind was on other things. I mean, sure, half of Hogwarts leaving for three weeks is a big thing- but it shouldn't make the teachers _that _stressed, should it? It just didn't make sense. Glancing at the head table again, the look on Hagrid's face confirmed her suspicions. He should be gleeful being able to see all those creatures at the new school, but he looked almost as nervous as McGonagall was stressed. Dumbledore was the only one acting normal, and that did nothing to ease her mind at all. She'd have to talk to Harry and Ron in the common room after the feast. In the meantime, she resolved, she would enjoy the steaming food those poor house elves had worked so hard to make.

A/N: Thanks to **Elise Bentwin** (for being a reviewer since the beginning), **Morgan Ray** (for reviewing each and every chapter), **Queen Tigress, Janangel, Kandygurl4, CherryIzzy, **and** Kjerstimalfoy **(I made Ron head boy mostly because I didn't want Draco to be. It was too cliché. And I think Ron might've jumped off a bridge or something if _someone_ didn't give his character a spotlight of some sort.). Once again, sorry for the late update, but two weeks of camp and a writer's block doesn't exactly help. Thanks again! Please review, I love you guys!

&TheScarlettSecret


	5. Peaceful Thoughts

Disclaimer: The only thing I own is the plot.

A/N: I had a hard time with this chapter, I hope it turned out okay. Thanks to my wonderful betas, Julia and Nicole. Any mistakes are my fault, not theirs.

Chapter Five: Peaceful Thoughts

Harry sat beneath a tall oak tree, its leaves just beginning to turn color, a sign of a very early winter to come. He closed his eyes, relaxing his body as he listened to the sound of the waves pounding softly on the shore of the crystal blue lake. He soaked in the cool breeze as it gently rolled off the top of the cold waters. He let his mind wander as far as the breeze could take him, over the mountains, beneath the seas, and through the valleys and forests, before settling on the choice topic of the entire school: the announcements and what had followed the next two days.

Harry recalled Ron's, well, rather _predictable _reactions. The telltale redheaded temper had risen, once again, as he spoke, or, more correctly, yelled his thoughts on the whole ordeal.

_Oh, the unfairness of it all_, Harry thought to himself sarcastically with a smile as he recalled Ron storming off to his dorms, a dark cloud over his head, after the shouting matches in the common room. He could pick a fight with anyone, over any_thing_, when he was mad.

Ginny had shared his reaction: a grin so big it illuminated her face. She shared Harry's own joy at the fact that there would be close to no noise at all in the castle for a few weeks while the younger students were away. Yes, he would _thoroughly_ enjoy walking through the halls to class without the screams coming from the first years when the staircases moved unexpectedly or, God forbid, a portrait blinked

Hermione had been beaming at the announcement, to the puzzle of everyone. One would think that Hermione would be furious at the disruption of their schedules and learning that the following events would most certainly have an effect on her everyday agenda, but no, there she was, grinning fondly at the younger students talking animatedly down the table. It wasn't until the common room (before Ron blew his head) that they learned why she was happy. It was more of a selfless reason than Harry's. She was just thrilled that the younger students would get decent Care of Magical Creatures lessons; as opposed to the ones they would get with Hagrid. Sure, Hagrid was nice enough, but all in all, he just wasn't cut out for teaching.

Harry furrowed his eyebrows and frowned a bit when he remembered the thoughtful look on her face before Ron blew his fuse. He'd have to talk to her about that later. She was on to something, as usual, catching things going on that he and Ron didn't. Expressions, tones, the way people carried themselves, just, well, details, were all things that he often missed. Thankfully, they were all things that Hermione picked up on quite easily.

Harry opened his eyes, breathing in a lungful of crisp, cooled air as he surveyed the scene painted out before him. The sweet simplicity of it all brought a smile to his face in place of the frown he bore minutes ago- the five of them sitting there, each with his or her own thoughts. Separate, but all connected somehow. Through both their pasts and their futures, they were all entwined in one way or another. It was a calming thought, really…

The thinking boy himself sat, resting against the great oak, a meter or two away from the lake. Ron could be seen on the shoreline of the lake, not too far from Harry himself, pacing back and forth. He'd walk a few steps, go back, and stare at the lake, a concentrated look crossing his face, and repeat the process. If only he'd direct that gaze towards his schoolbooks, Hermione would be flying with glee. He looked into the depths before him as if they were both the mystery and the answer he couldn't find.

Across the lake sat the two girls. Hermione had her head on her knees, arms wrapped around them, also staring into the depths of the lake that was washing up upon her toes. Harry could see the clockwork in her head turning as she sorted out her problems and thought up ways to fix them. Her hair was frizzing up again, thanks to the moisture in the air from the lake, but as Harry tilted his head, he realized just how well it suited her. It was appropriate not only her face and body, but also her personality. As it boldly seemed to defy gravity, it showed that she was more willing to care and think about others than she was about her self. Any other girl would have drowned it in Sleakeasy's each morning just to make it manageable, but Hermione didn't have time for that, and she didn't care, either. Ginny's hair, on the other hand…

Harry was entranced as the long strands of straight, red hair danced and played in the breeze, tempting him to come and join in their frolic. Quite different from the first day, her hair was once again straight, but never plain. She told him she'd played with it over the summer but found that she didn't want to take the time to create the majestic curls of the first day. Either way, it was beautiful to Harry. The sun lit up a circle of her hair on the crown of her head, creating the illusion of a halo dancing in her hair. The sixth-year girl was resting her head on Hermione's shoulder, hugging her knees tightly, as if warding off the crisp air. The two girls were like sisters, neither having ever had a sister of their own. They told each other everything, and, to be honest, sometimes Harry was jealous. Ron sure was. But they both knew that Hermione was as open with them as she was comfortable with, and sometimes she just needed a girl-to-girl talk. But Harry wondered what _Ginny_ told her… Had she ever mentioned him? _Would_ she ever mention him?

Harry tore his gaze away from the girls and let it fall upon the fifth student sitting on the other side of the lake, farthest away from everyone else, but close enough that Harry could observe him carefully. There sat Draco Malfoy- just… sitting; and thinking. Not plotting, not sneering, not scheming, just, thinking. Sitting on the large boulder, he seemed more entranced with the lake and the way lights danced and reflected off the surface than even Hermione; and _that_ was a feat to accomplish. As those steely gray eyes softened slightly, Harry looked on, a thoughtful look painting his face. This was the second time Harry had seen him without his cronies, just thinking. The first had been a day ago, in one of the more desolate corridors, when Harry spotted him sitting on the windowsill of one of the many arched windows, staring off into the distance, much like he was doing now.

The scene before Harry was nothing magnificent, nothing tremendous, and nothing awesome. Five teens with different backgrounds just sitting and contemplating life, nothing beautiful about that, right? Except, in that respect… he guessed it really was. It was a shame that Harry was the only one who was really seeing it.

Hermione looked up from the lake, startling Ginny, as she heard a commotion coming from the front of the castle. Everyone around her looked up as it got louder, and the doors opened, the younger students spilling out of the castle, led by Hagrid- the only one they could see clearly above their peers. They all looked confused upon seeing no mode of transportation before them, but were pushed out of their trance by other students tumbling out behind them.

_Tweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet_

Hermione giggled as she saw the muggle toy in Hagrid's lips. He let the bright pink plastic whistle fall back against his jacket, trusting that the matching string would hold it on. No one else seemed to notice though; they were all too busy looking up at the sky. A flock of carriages were soaring through the air towards them, each being led by two winged tigers, the most beautiful sight Hermione had ever seen.

She quickly jumped up, realizing her duties to help the students load their luggage, and started running.

"Hermione! Where are you going?" Ginny called out, confused about the disruption.

"I need to help load the carriages!" Hermione shouted back, but she wasn't sure her friend had heard her.

As Hermione got closer, the Head Girl realized the more subtle distinctions between them and your more average tiger. These had longer legs, and looked more agile, and their eyes were peculiarly silver to match their fur, which was orange, black, and silver. Their wings were as long as their bodies were, ranging from six to eight feet, and looked metallic as the sun glinted off their silver feathers.

They landed gracefully on the ground, bowing low, and Hagrid did the same, coming up at the same time Hermione reached them, Ron following quickly behind her.

"Hullo, yeh two," he greeted them, lifting up the first suitcases into the nearest carriage. "Yeh mind helpin' me load th' luggage?"

"Not at all," Hermione said, speaking for the both of them, seeing as Ron couldn't. He was currently bent over, hands on his knees, breathing heavily from the run. Looking up, he noticed that Hermione wasn't fazed at all and made a sour face.

"Why aren't you tired, Hermione?" He asked as they made their way over to the pile of suitcases. "We just ran all the way from the lake!"

"It was just from the lake to here." Hermione shrugged as Ron looked on in disbelief.

"Crazy, that one…" he muttered under his breath. Hermione smirked, but didn't let him know that she'd heard.

"Hagrid, what are they?" Hermione tilted her head towards the creatures in front of the carriages as she hefted up a considerably heavy trunk. Someone had made the compartments in the back of the carriages more spacious than they'd normally be so they wouldn't need extra coaches for luggage.

"Oh, them? Those're tyrens," Hagrid said proudly, puffing out his chest. "It's very rare that yeh will see one. It's hard enough to spot one, but when yeh do, yeh have to know the right spell to domesticate 'em, or they'll destruct everythin' in their paths. _Tranquillus!_" Hagrid twirled his umbrella with longing. "A dash and point..." Waking himself out of his reverie, he turned to Hermione with renewed enthusiasm. "You want to meet one?"

Hermione eyed the creatures, deciding whether or not they were dangerous, like most of Hagrid's pets, and decided it was probably better for her health if she didn't.

"No thank you, Hagrid. I really ought to finish up with these trunks."

"Alrigh', another time then." Hagrid grunted as he picked up a trunk.

"Hey, 'Mione?" Hagrid asked as they picked up the two ends of one of the teachers' trunks.

"Yes, Hagrid?"

"You be careful when we're gone, okay?"

Hermione tilted her head to the side before asking, "Why?"

"Oh, nothin'," Hagrid said quickly. "Jus' worried 'bout you guys."

Hermione smiled, "Of course we'll be careful, Hagrid."

Within a few minutes all the trunks were packed away, and the students had all filed into the carriages. The rest of the school, however, was now situated on the front lawn of the castle, to wave goodbye as they left. Hagrid, Professor Sprout, Professor Flitwick, Professor Binns, Madame Hooch, and Firenze were all saying goodbye to their colleagues before they left with the students, much to many of the older students' relief. No History of Magic, Herbology, or Charms for a few weeks was going to be a nice break. They just wished Snape was leaving with them.

Professor McGonagall tried to push the students back as the carriages soared into the air, but was having great difficulty, and ended up surrendering to them. What was left of the student body and staff waved and shouted their goodbyes as friends and family soared into the distance. When they could no longer be seen, they filed back into the school, ready to resume their new schedules.

Hermione sat at her desk in potions, tapping her uninked quill against the wood's grain as she waited impatiently for Harry and Ron to show up. No doubt they'd end up using her notes to study off of, as usual, but they ought to at least make an effort to take them.

She raised her eyebrows quizzically as her two friends ran into the room and quickly sat on either side of her, faces flushed and hair tussled from the sprint to Snape's dungeon from the Gryffindor commons.

"I was beginning to think you two wouldn't show up," she hissed under her breath.

"Not like we wanted to," Ron replied, digging his books out of his bag. No sooner had he spoken then a familiar drawl filled the air.

"What was that, Mister Weasley?" Professor Snape asked, the venom in his voice ringing out across the dungeon.

"I, uh, was just telling Harry how much I wanted to get to potions," Ron said, nervously, looking at Harry for affirmation.

"He was, sir," Harry said with a small nod.

"I doubt you had such a change of heart over the summer. Ten points from Gryffindor." Snape glared at them before walking to the front of the room, black robes fluttering out behind him.

"I swear, I think he has those robes custom made in order to do that," Ron whispered to Harry. "I mean, there's no air flow in here at all! It's too stale to blow them back like that."

Harry chuckled quietly. "Knowing him, it wouldn't surprise me."

"Turn to page two-hundred and eighty three," Snape bellowed, making a few students jump. "You will be making the Filicious potion today. It amplifies the drinker's senses, making them more aware of their surroundings. If brewed correctly it will also make them aware of the state of the person on their minds. If brewed incorrectly, or given too much than the recommended dose, it will mix up the senses, concluding in a mental distortion of the world around the drinker. It is very simple to make if you follow the directions correctly." Snape emphasized those last few words while staring at Neville, who had a history of mixing up ingredients. "Your materials are on the board and up front, labeled neatly. There should be no misconceptions of what ingredient is what. Instructions are in your books. You are to brew alone, but are allowed to help each other in small groups. I expect this potion to be done by the end of the day. Go."

A flurry of pages and robes started as soon as the word "go", but Hermione, being Hermione, was already reading the instructions.

"This is a really simple potion," she commented, flipping to the next page. Ron leaned over her shoulder to catch a glimpse of the book he "forgot".

"Oi, Hermione, you're right! Even Neville could get this right! No offense, Neville," he added when he noticed Neville at the row of desks next to them.

"None taken, mate," Neville told him on his way to the front.

"Well, I'm not complaining," Harry said with a shrug as he got up. "I'll go get our ingredients."

"Thanks, Harry," Hermione said with a smile as she kept reading.

Potions went without a hitch that afternoon. The only near-disaster happened when Neville's potion, which was supposed to be clear, started turning purple and bubbling fervently. Before Snape noticed, however, Hermione managed to levitate the fallen lizard's tail back out of his cauldron, and it immediately calmed. And although Ron's potion had a slightly greenish tinge to it, it seemed to pass right under Professor Snape's unusually careless gaze as he gave them all passing grades and let them go.

Students seemed to flee the murky dungeons as they gravitated towards the afternoon light streaming through the upper windows and dancing on the ground in intricate patterns.

"You hear that?" Ron asked suddenly as they made their way across the castle to Defense Against the Dark Arts.

Harry and Hermione paused for a second before Hermione asked the question he wanted to hear. "Hear what?"

"Exactly." Ron smirked as his two friends gave him puzzled glances. "With those stupid first, second, and third years gone, the castle seems so… peaceful," he said, a goofy grin plastered across his otherwise dazed face. Harry sighed.

"Too bad it's not going to last longer. A few weeks just isn't enough."

"Maybe you two will be able to concentrate more on your homework, seeing as it's so "peaceful"," Hermione cajoled, slinging her arms around her friends' shoulders.

"Aw, Hermione," Ron whined. "I was going to go out and practice quidditch without all those little… _things_ buzzing around, falling off their broomsticks. You know, it _is_ our last year here. Shouldn't we have a little fun?"

With a sigh, Hermione gave in. "I suppose a little fun won't hurt… but you two have to promise that you'll do at least _one_ essay tonight, alright?"

Harry and Ron nodded fervently at the chance for a bit of quidditch before the training season began. They knew that if they tried to bargain with Hermione for anything less than an essay that she'd close the deal all together.

Hermione, quite happy that she'd gotten an entire essay out of them, just smirked as she walked between them, hoping that this year she could get more honest work out of them, and less copying. If she had her way, she definitely would. Oh, yes, she would.

XxXxXxXxXxX

A/N: I would like to thank Queen Tigress and BlackAngel52488 for reviewing: reviews mean more to me than you know, so thanks so much you two. The next chapter should be up in about a week, if all goes as planned.


	6. Applause and Screams

Disclaimer: I own the plot, but not the characters or anyone/anything you might recognize.

Chapter Six: Applause and Screams

A/N: I had lots of fun writing this chapter: I hope you guys like it! Nicole, Amanda, and Julia: mucho gracias for the wonderful beta-ing. Any other mistakes, miswordings, and stupid ideas are entirely and completely my fault. You guys are amazing: thanks so much!

&------&

I breathed in deeply as I strolled onto the grounds, breathing in the familiar scenes of the castle, the lake, owls, and a potion or two gone awry.

"Ah, feels good to be back, doesn't it?" I asked my companion.

"Yes, it most certainly does, dear brother," he replied. "We've waited too long for this, it'll be great for business. Ah, but something doesn't quite feel right about this, does it?"

"My thoughts exactly," I said with a grin. With a mere flick of my wand our old school robes were out of their boxes in the attic and back where they belonged. They were an inch too short, but beggars can't be choosers I suppose.

"Still a bit musty, but that's nothing a freshening charm won't fix."

By now we'd reached the towering front doors, and in a fluid motion we both swung them open and breathed in the scent of Hogwarts: cleaning solutions, faint mustiness the house elves must hate, owls, an old dung bomb's lingering stench, and the mahogany wood of the furniture. A last breeze of September air made its way into the empty hall as the heavy doors shut behind us. Our footsteps echoed through the corridor as we made our way to the Great Hall by memory, though I suppose we could have done so by merely following our noses. Supper was underway, and the minute we made the first turn about ten different delicious scents wafted through the hall towards us with tempting fingers to lure us forward.

Once again we found ourselves under the arch of a large doorway, but this time we hesitated, savoring the moment. Each of us had a hand on one of the large, intricate silver handles as memories came flooding back to us. We could hear voices in the hall, but waited a few moments for the opportune moment to arrive when the entire student body was in that hall. A moment later I looked over at my sibling, and he looked back.

"On three?" He asked.

"Of course. One…"

"Two…"

"Three!" We yelled together, and each of us threw a door open and stepped into the hall, letting the doors slam loudly behind us, our grand entrance granting us the full attention of the hall.

Voices were hushed and the room fell silent upon our arrival, eyes of everyone growing big. Specifically those of McGonagall and Filch, but that was only to be expected. We stood in the silence for a moment, never feeling (or looking) awkward, before I spoke.

"I don't really think I'm enjoying our grand welcome as much as I thought I would. What do you think, Fred?" I asked, hand on my hip, head turned toward my twin.

"Oh, not at all, George," Fred said shaking his head, playing along.

Our little banter broke the silence like a hot knife through butter, and within moments the entire hall was filled with applause from the students and apprehensive looks from the staff table. Of course, the five figures running towards us with looks ranging from gleeful to furious had been merely anticipated.

&------&

"Fred! George!" Ginny yelled, running towards her two older brothers, both of whom braced for impact immediately before she slammed into George, who swept her off her feet and gave her a kiss on the check in greeting before setting her back down. Hermione, Harry, and Ron soon followed and greeted them before bombarding them with their questions.

"George, what're you two doing here?" Ginny said, hand on her hip.

Feigning surprise, he replied, "George? Dear sister, you're speaking to the one and only Fred!"

"Oh, quit the act," she said, rolling her eyes. "I could tell you two apart since I was six, even if Mom couldn't."

"Ah, yes. You were never much fun after that…"

"George!" Hermione reprimanded before he could get off topic.

"Oh, right. We're here to see-"

"Our lovely, family, of course," Fred said, finishing the sentence for him in that uncanny way they always had. However, all it took was a look from Ginny that was undoubtedly inherited from her mother's side to make them spill.

"It would be nice to do some advertising and testing for our new joke shop," Fred said, tilting his head and looking upwards towards the evening sky, pretending innocence.

"I mean, as long as we're here," George added with a wink.

A number of reactions came with this: nearby tables started whispering and glancing apprehensively at them, Ginny's face illuminated with a huge grin, Ron jittered nervously, Harry was stuck between Ron's nervousness and Ginny's excitement, Hermione gave them a stern look, and Professor McGonagall finally made it towards them.

"Just what," she said, lips thin, "do you two think you're doing, storming into the castle like this, uninvited and unannounced?"

"Well, I think we did just announce ourselves," Fred said with a shrug, looking at George to continue.

"We're just here to tes- er, advertise a few of our new products. Don't you worry, Madame, we'll be gone by tomorrow evening. Nothing harmful. And we promise not to create any more swamps, like last time," George said, nodding at Filch with his last comment. "A little birdie told us you kept a bit of it, is that true?"

This time it was Filch's turn to nod. Not a man of many words, he continued eating after his affirmative, looking a bit grim at the prospect of a mess or two to clean up.

"Aboslutely not!" McGonagall told him. "You will _not_ be staying the night, it is just not allowed!" Hermione looked down and noticed the transfiguration teacher wringing her hands nervously.

"Well, we've never been ones to abide by the rules, have we, George?"

"Not particularly, Fred," the redhead said with a look of 'sorry' on his face. "Now, if you don't mind, we have a few products to plant in the halls. Notices will be posted on house bulletin boards for more information on our shop!"

Before McGonagall could protest once more, the twins were out the door, on their way to mischief. McGonagall followed them, but came back moments later upon realizing they'd disappeared.

"What do you think about that, mate?" Harry asked Ron.

"I think I'm a bit scared, honestly," he said.

"I think it's a load of rubbish, them coming back to Hogwarts to _test products_ on students! You don't happen to have the Marauder's Map on you Harry, do you?" Hermione asked, turning to the said friend.

"Sorry, Hermione," Harry said.

"Well, we'll just have to go get it," she replied. "Perhaps I'll stop them before they get too far."

"Aw, Hermione," Ron complained. As if on cue, his stomach growled.

"He's right," Harry said. "We might as well eat dinner. They won't be putting anything dangerous out there under Dumbledore's watch."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that, Harry," Ginny countered with a smirk as soon as McGonagall was out of sight.

"Either way, I'm hungry," Ron said, crossing his arms.

With a sigh Hermione resigned to her friend's wishes and sat back down at the table. She quickly finished eating and turned to glare at the doorway while she waited for her friends, as if the twins would suddenly appear at her will. She was broken from her reverie when Snape blocked her view on his way out of the hall a few minutes later.

"Harry! Ron! Hurry up! Ginny's already done," Hermione sigh anxiously. The less time the twins had to plant their "jokes", the less "jokes" there would be.

"Ah riy, ah riy!" Hermione put her head in her hands as she heard Ron trying, once again, to speak with his mouth full.

"Oops," he said with a sheepish look.

"Let's just go," Hermione said, getting up. She smiled when the others got up, too. In front of them, Snape was opening the doors to the hall on the other side, looking wary. And with reason, too, for as soon as he stepped into the hall his robes were gone, and had been replaced with a pink, frilly dress. It took a moment for the students to realize what happened, but they roared with laughter when it was figured out. Even McGonagall cracked a smile. Snape turned to glare at them, but it wasn't very effective with the bright pink, blushing face. Turning on his heels, he stormed down to the dungeons, trying spells on the dress all the while, none of which seemed to work.

When Hermione reached the door, she looked around warily, not seeing the spell anywhere. Bracing herself, she gripped Ginny's hand, and stepped through.

&------&

"The nerve!" Ron was still fuming as they ran to the Gryffindor tower, all wearing dresses of an unbearable shade of pink. "I cannot believe those insufferable-"

"Is that the way to talk about your brothers, dearest Ronnikens?" A voice said as they turned a corner.

"George! That was awesome!" Ginny exclaimed, embracing her older brother. "Did you _see_ the look on Snape's face?"

The twins both showed disappointed faces. "No, it seems we missed it," Fred replied. "But we _did_ see him storming down the halls."

"That- that- OH!" Ron stuttered.

"That spell's not going to be there forever, is it?" Hermione asked, tapping her foot on the ground to show her impatience.

"Don't worry, it only works once per person," George told her with a smirk. "Bloody brilliant, hm?"

"Oh, yes!" Harry exclaimed sarcastically as he waved his fingers in the air. "Fred and George are _bloody_ brilliant!"

The twins looked at each other and grinned. Moments later, Harry's dress was turned back into his robes.

"Fred and George are bloody brilliant?" Hermione asked, eyebrows raised, as her dress disappeared. "How subtle."

"Aren't we always, Hermione? But we'd best be on our way. Only here for a day, remember." With that, the twins disappeared down a corridor before Hermione could stop them.

"Where are you staying?" Hermione called after them in a desperate attempt.

"The Room of Requirement, of course!" One of them called back before they disappeared completely.

Ginny laughed before reciting the line Harry happened upon, and it wasn't long before heads turned to Ron, waiting for him to recite it, too.

"No."

"Why not? Or are you enjoying the cross-dressing experience?" Harry asked.

Glaring, Ron replied, "No. I will _not_ say that Fred and George are bloody brilliant."

"Too late, mate," Harry said as he started down the hall. Ron looked down and realized his mistake before running to catch up.

&------&

Hermione woke with a start and looked around the gold and maroon room, wondering why she'd woken up at three in the morning, and quickly realized why. Her grumbling stomach reminded her of the dinner she'd skimmed over, and with a slight groan she threw her legs over the side of her bed and slipped her feet into her white, fuzzy slippers and stood up. A quick glance in the mirror reminded her of her attire: a white camisole, navy blue plaid flannel pants, and her slippers. Shaking her head to force out the grogginess, she slipped on a dark robe and slid her wand into her pocket before walking silently to the steps.

As she made her way down several flights of stairs, she cursed whoever had decided to put the head's room at the top of them. Having her own room was nice, but at the top of eight flights of stairs? That was just crazy…

Slipping out of the portrait hole, she looked around to make sure no one was around. She silently swept through the halls and into a dark corridor. She shivered and wrapped her arms tightly around herself as she walked in the utter darkness, feeling both cold and alone.

Fumbling for her wand, she began muttering the spell for light but froze in place when she heard footsteps heavier than her own. She was sure not even the Head Girl could get out of trouble for creeping around at three in the morning dressed in her pajamas. The footsteps loomed closer, and Hermione backed up against a wall, wand still in her hand. A light from the end of a wand wasn't enough for Hermione to see the witch or wizard, so Hermione merely held her breath and hoped for the best. But it seemed fate was not on her side, for all the stealth in the world could not have calmed the loud grumble from the pits of Hermione's stomach.

The figure in front of Hermione turned quickly, and the light on the end of the wand grew, lighting up the entire corridor.

"M… Malfoy?" Hermione asked in confusion.

"Yes. It appears we would both like a midnight snack," he replied with a smirk as Hermione's face grew slightly red at her stomach's outburst.

"I guess so…" Hermione said, but her face froze as the wall behind him caught her attention.

"What?" Draco turned to face the blank wall, then Hermione again. "Granger, have you gone mental? There's nothing there."

"Exactly," she replied, still staring. "So where are the portraits?"

The question took the Slytherin by surprise, and he pointed his wand down the corridor, only to find that the portraits had all disappeared.

"… Holy shit," was his only answer.

"Let's keep going," Hermione replied, and started walking down the corridor again. When she reached the spot where the portrait of fruit used to hang, she found a nail in the wall, and a crack where the portrait opened. Grabbing the nail, she swung the door open, and awkwardly stepped into the kitchens. The tables all shone under the light from the two students' wands, and there wasn't a speck of food in sight.

"Where are the houselves?" Draco asked.

"I have no idea…" she replied, dragging her finger across a table as she made her way to a nearby pantry.

"You have _no idea?_" he replied, unbelieving. "You're the head girl! You, of all people, should know!"

"All the food's still here…" she said as she opened the door, ignoring his ranting. "And why didn't I run into any teachers on the way here? There's almost always one of them on the prowl… We need to go find Dumbledore." Hermione's eyes connected with Draco's, filled with fierce determination.

"Let's go," he replied, and hurried out the door. The two of them couldn't have gotten to the gargoyle's statue faster if they'd flown.

"Gumdrops," Hermione said, panting, and the staircase opened up. Scurrying up the stairs, she knocked urgently on the door, but got no answer.

"Just go in," Draco told her impatiently.

"No! I can't just go in uninvited!"

Draco just pushed past her, in no mood to argue, and opened the door to find a room empty of papers, trinkets, and portraits. The chairs and desk were bare, save for a yellow post-it note on the desk. Hermione nearly tripped as she ran to the desk, and sat down in the headmaster's chair to read the note.

"What does it say?" Draco asked, leaning over.

"The lemon drops are in the bottom left drawer," Hermione said, closing her eyes and leaning back as she brought a hand to her head. "Oh, God, none of them are here! What are we going to do?"

Hermione soon realized she was speaking to herself when she heard the squeak of a drawer.

"Well, he was right," Draco said, popping a lemon drop into his mouth.

"How can you be eating candy at a time like _this?_"

Draco blinked at her. "Well, I'm still hungry," he said with an annoyed tone as he popped another lemon drop into his mouth.

Hermione sighed. "We need to come up with a plan. I need you to gather the Slytherins and have them in the hall at first light. I'll get the others."

"At first light? Are you out of your mind?" Draco exclaimed, outraged. It would've worked better if he weren't so groggy.

"Do you want to take care of the mess that would follow if even _one student_ left early, and found a deserted castle? There would be mass panic!"

"Alright, alright, have it your way," Draco submitted, before adding, "Mudblood," for his own benefit.

Hermione glared at him as he moved towards the door, and followed. When they got to the bottom of the stairs, both turned different directions, Hermione making her way to Gryffindor tower as she planned out breakfast.

"_Breakfast! Oh God, someone needs to cook breakfast!"_ As Hermione made her second turn she was so deep in thought it took her a moment longer than it should to realize that she wasn't alone. Focusing in on reality, she realized she was definitely not alone.

&------&

"Aaaah!" Draco heard the yelp of terror three corridors away. He froze, and looked back into the darkness. Granger was hurt, or ran into something, or some_one_, on her way back. Looking forwards, the Slytherin commons loomed a corridor away, and with it, his bed. But they were alone here, and no one but he could help her. Sighing to himself, he turned around and ran.

&------&

Hermione had her wand pointed out in front of her, and was stepping backwards slowly. She heard a swish of cloak behind her and twirled around, soon finding her wand pointed directly in Draco Malfoy's face.

"I heard you scream."

"I screamed?"

"Like a girl."

"Shove it, Malfoy," she said, turning around. "And help."

"A blast-ended-skrewt?" He asked, peering over her shoulder.

"If you didn't notice, it's about seven feet long. And doesn't respond well to me trying to stupefy it."

Hermione was right. They were now facing a seven-foot-long, fire-engine-red, blast-ended-skrewt. And they had no idea how to get rid of it.

"_Stupefy!_" Draco yelled, wand extended. The skrewt backed up a step, but then started scurrying forward.

"_Incarcerous!"_ Hermione yelled, and thick ropes appeared out of the air and wrapped themselves around the creature so it couldn't move towards them, and smiled to herself.

"Alright. I need those Slytherins right away. Do you suppose you could get the Hufflepuffs, too? They're common room is-"

"Through a wall in the East side. I know, Granger," he replied with a smirk. "I'm on it."

Hermione carefully stepped over the angry skrewt and made her way to Gryffindor, first; it was closer.

&------&

A/N: Special thanks to my sole reviewer from last time: The World is a Stage. Please, if you're reading, review. You guys are what keep me going!


	7. Collision Course

Chapter Seven: Collision Course

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

A/N: Thanks to my beta, Nicole, penname _Elise Bentwin_. Her story is amazing! Go read it if you have time! Thanks to my reviewers, too. If you're reading this, it means I hit thirty reviews, so thank you. If I continue to get ten or so reviews a chapter, maybe I'll give you an extra chapter sometime soon… :raises eyebrows suggestively: Well, here it is!

&&

Ginny sat awake in her bed, thinking to herself. She let out soft a giggle.

"_Nighttime thinking must've become my new pastime… It's not like I can help it. It's just so calm and quiet; it provokes thought."_

She clutched her knees to her chest and pulled on her lank hair. _"I can't believe Fred and George had the nerve to show up to Hogwarts uninvited! It's totally like them though, and it's not as if I can say I don't want them here. They're the best brothers I could've had. I mean, Ron plays the protective brother role perfectly- loving and overprotective. But they… they're different."_

As Ginny sat in her bed she went over the event in her mind. Oh, it had been so exciting when they threw the doors open! But a blush crept over her features as she remembered what had happened once McGonagall had gotten there. _"Oh, why must I be so shy around adults? It's like I'm a totally different person… Then again, I suppose I **do** have the element of surprise over them if I ever need it," _she thought with a smirk. _"They don't know just how close I am to the twins."_

With a content sigh, she flopped down on her bed and wondered, for the seventh time, why she was still up at three thirty in the morning. Tossing and turning, she slowly succumbed to the calm grip of sleep. As darkness started to enclose her, she was suddenly shaken awake by a sudden jolt of light. Sitting up wearily, she looked around the room for the culprit, and saw the other girls moaning and slowly sitting up, too. Squinting her eyes against the light, she looked towards the door and tried to make out the offender.

"Hermione?" she asked groggily, swinging her legs off the bed.

"Everyone, please get dressed and meet in the common room before going to the Great Hall. There has been an emergency. Please do not forget your wands," she said over the groans of Ginny's classmates.

"What kind of emergency?" someone asked as Ginny swiftly dressed.

"You will find out," was all Hermione said. "When you go downstairs, make sure Harry knows you're there. He will not leave until he knows everyone is there. Please keep together. Do _not_ wander the halls."

"It's not Sirius Black again, is it?" asked another student, worriedly.

"No, it's not. Now, _please_ hurry. Time is of the essence." With that, Hermione turned and started down the stairs to wake the fifth years, but Ginny laid a hand on her arm and looked up at the Head Girl with a questioning gaze.

Hermione looked at Ginny's hand, and when their eyes met, Ginny realized the fear and urgency in Hermione's eyes, and decided not to ask.

"I'll wake the others," she offered. "You do what you need to do."

Hermione nodded gratefully, and Ginny watched her as she took the steps two at a time, and swiftly climbed through the portrait hole before shutting it firmly. When she left, she heard Harry's and Ron's voices yelling at the boys in a very military-like fashion, and was thankful she only had to wake the girls. She swiftly awoke the fifth- and fourth-years, telling them the same thing Hermione had told her, and then decided that she ought to make the rounds again and drag any stragglers out of bed. And it appeared Lavender was going to be a straggler.

"Hey, Lav! It's time to wakie-wakie!" Ginny said as she stepped into the seventh-year girls' dorms, taking on a mother-like tone.

"Mmm… five more minutes," the waking girl groaned.

Ginny walked over to the bed and started tugging on the covers, but Lavender poked her hand out from under the sheets in a claw-like form, daring Ginny to go farther. Which, being Ginny, she did. What she didn't think when she was pulling on the covers was exactly how _long_ Lavender's fingernails were. Pity she only realized this _after_ she had the red marks on her hand.

Tapping her foot impatiently on the ground, Ginny thought of ways to get the older girl out of bed that wouldn't cause her bodily harm.

"Lavender?" Ginny asked coyly.

"Hm?" Lavender half-moaned from under her pillow.

"You know, when I was downstairs I could've sworn I saw two people making-out…" When Lavender's body stiffened and her head popped out of the covers, ready for the juicy details, Ginny knew she had the older girl's attention. Now only if she could lure her all the way downstairs…

"Who was it?" Lavender demanded.

Ginny thought for a moment. It needed to be someone she wanted to know about, so it had to be someone new; without a girlfriend boyfriend. And someone who wouldn't hate her for all eternity…

"I couldn't tell… I think it was Harry," she said with a bored tone.

"Harry Potter?" she exclaimed. This was definitely juicy. Harry had never done anything with anyone- that she knew of, of course. Before Ginny could even blink, the seventh-year was dressed and out the door, hurrying downstairs. Ginny only hoped that Harry would forgive her.

The rest of the floors were fairly empty, with just of couple of dawdlers who couldn't find their wands, or their other shoe. Pleased with her work, she wormed her way into the middle of the common room where Harry and Ron were checking students off.

"All of the girls are out of bed, Harry," she told him.

"Thanks, Gin," he replied, on his tiptoes as he searched the sea of anxious faces. "Lavender said to say 'Hello', and that you 'suck', as she so delicately put it."

"Oh, sorry, Harry! She just wouldn't get out of bed," Ginny quickly apologized as she scanned the crowd for herself, only to find Lavender sitting in a chair scowling.

"Apology accepted. Everyone's here, let's go," he said without looking up.

"Everybody, listen up!" he shouted as he stood up on a table so everyone could hear him. "We are all here and accounted for, and need to get down to the great hall immediately! We do not want to lose anyone, so please get into groups of two or three, and make sure your group stays close to the main one! We aren't sure what's going on, but we don't want to risk anything! Now let's go!" With that, he climbed off the table and hurried towards the portrait in order to get ahead of everyone; Ginny and Ron scrambling after him.

"So you don't have any clue what Hermione's up to?" Ginny asked Harry as they made their way down the halls.

"No idea, she wouldn't say anything," he replied, glancing back.

They walked in silence for a moment before Ginny's hands clutched her arms, where goosebumps were rapidly rising.

"Harry," she said, catching his attention.

"Yes, Ginny?" he asked, concerned at her tone of voice.

"Something feels wrong," she said, looking around. "Something's out of place. This doesn't feel right."

He looked at her, and nodded. "I know. I feel it, too."

"Woah, guys," Ron said, holding his arms out to stop them.

"What, Ro-" Harry began to ask before he manage to face forward again. "Oh."

"Bloody Slytherins," Ron whispered with venom.

"Hm?" Ginny looked to where Ron was pointing. "Oh…" she said, mimicking Harry without trying. But that was really all she felt she could trust herself to say once her eyes had connected with those of a seven-foot long, blood-red skrewt with a thick piece of rope in it's mouth in the middle of the hallway.

&&

"Draco- tell me again why I'm sopping wet?" Pansy asked in an annoyed tone as she ruffled her hair in attempt to dry it.

"Because no one would get up," Draco smirked. "If you'd been in the common room on time…"

"Hmph." Pansy glared at him. "You should've at least given us a warning."

"I have a temper; so sue me," he said flatly.

Crossing her arms across her chest, Pansy continued to glare at the King of Slytherin as they walked through the dungeons, toward the great hall.

"Woah, woah, woah!" Blaise suddenly yelled out. He spread his arms out, trying to stop the group behind him as he looked towards the ground. Pansy and Draco followed his gaze and found a piece of thread strung three inches off the ground.

"It's a trap of some kind… Get everyone across without touching it, and we should be fine," Blaise said, taking charge. He pointed his wand at Draco's throat, catching him off guard. But before Draco could pull out his own wand, he muttered "_soronus_", and put his wand back in his robes.

"Tell them back up five steps, and to get in groups of… four. And to stay where they are until we tell them otherwise," he explained to a confused Draco.

Draco nodded, and told them just that. Only, in more Draco-like terms.

"Alright people, listen up! Step back five steps so you don't kill us all, then get in groups of four. Doesn't matter who's with you, just do it." He pointed his wand, yet again, at his throat. "_Finite_."

The students behind the string got into groups quickly under the trio's scrutinizing glare, a couple of fourth years tripping over their feet, but thankfully not the string.

"Alright, first group, come here," Blaise said, pointing at the nearest set of students. "You see the string there?" He pointed at the string. "Step _over_ it. Not on it. Got it?"

The students either nodded or rolled their eyes before stepping gracefully over the line. The rest of the groups did just as well, and soon Draco, Blaise, and Pansy were the only ones left.

"Whew," Blaise sighed. "Took a while, but we made it."

"Alright, then, what are we waiting for?" Pansy demanded, starting for the students on the other side.

"Wait, Pansy, NO!" Blaise yelled, trying to grab her. "We have to step over it, too!"

But Blaise was too late; Pansy had already forgotten and triggered the string. A low rumbling started, and all the students stopped talking and froze in place, staring down the dark hallway in disbelief.

"Get behind the corner!" Draco yelled at the students, and started waving his arms frantically to get their attention as he yelled. Finally they got the message, and started running towards the corner, but they had a head start. Tossing a look over his shoulder, he saw the boulder rolling down the hallway, gaining speed as little pieces of rock flew off of the monstrosity. Looking forward again, he saw that the others were safe, but the corner was still too far away.

"Against the wall!" he yelled, and flattened himself in example. Realizing that they weren't going to make it, Pansy and Blaise also flattened themselves against the wall. Pansy reached out and clutched both the boys' wrists in a death grip as she squeezed her eyes and braced herself. Draco almost winced when Pansy grabbed his wrist, and flattened himself as much as possible, hoping to fit through the space between the rock and the wall. Blaise, on the other hand, was not quite as cool and collected as Draco.

He watched as the boulder came at them, gaining speed, seconds away, and started hyperventilating. The corridor started going hazy, he felt dizzy and disoriented. He put both of his hands to his forehead, alerting Pansy as he steadied himself.

"BLAISE!" Pansy screamed, causing Draco to look over. Panic filled the two students as Blaise's world turned black and he fell to the floor just as the boulder hit them. But instead of screams of agony and crunching of bones, there was… silence. The boulder had disappeared as soon as it had touched Blaise, and there was nothing left, not even the rocks it had left in a trail behind itself.

Students started filing back out from around the corner, and were confused when they saw no boulder, or dead seventh-years.

"It was an illusion," Draco explained to them. "A damn good one, too."

"C'mon, Blaise, wake up." Pansy was on her hand and knees, with one hand on the other boy's forehead, and one on his pulse.

Draco flicked his wand, and the equivillent of a bucket of water was poured down on Blaise's head, splashing Pansy too, who shrieked on impact.

"Draco!" she yelled, accusingly.

"I need him awake. We need to _move_," he told her as Blaise sat up. "Was an illusion, Blaise."

"Oh…" Blaise answered meekly, embarrassed. "Who did it, you think?"

"Who else? I have to go get the Hufflepuffs." Draco told them before turning around the opposite corner.

"Bloody Gryffindors," Blaise muttered, standing up. "Think they can play games with our heads…"

"Well, we'll just have to get them back, then won't we?" Pansy said, dragging him back to the front of the group as they headed towards the Great Hall, and the Gryffindors.

&&

Harry wiped his brow and stared at the skrewt on the floor. "Nice job with the conjunctivitis curse, Ginny."

"Thanks," Ginny said with a small smile as she brushed herself off. "I saw Krum use it in the First Task in third year to blind the dragon. I say it worked better here than it did for him."

Harry smiled, "Yes, it did. Now we need to get a move on, Hermione's probably already gathered the Ravenclaws."

"You're right, we should hurry."

"They're all here," Ron said as he joined them. "Neville's got a nasty cut from the overgrown lobster, but that's the extent of it. Those bloody Slytherins, what did they think they were doing, setting a skrewt on us?"

"Who knows, Ron," Ginny asked rhetorically as she headed for the front line of Gryffindors. "But now we need to get to Hermione. She's the only one who knows what's going on."

Ron nodded and followed her, Harry trailing closely behind.

"Be on the lookout guys, we don't want to run into another of those unsuspecting," he cautioned.

The Gryffindors made their way down the staircases and onto the main level without incident. They were a corridor away from the great hall when Ron stopped them.

"Woah, guys. I see another monster. There are quite a few of them, actually," Ron said menacingly.

"Where?" Harry looked around, his wand already out.

"Right there," Ron pointed at the Slytherins coming from the opposite way.

The Gryffindors kept walking until they met up with the Slytherins, and soon the two houses were staring at each other, each loathing the other with a passion, not fully understanding the situation. Neither house spoke, nobody moved. They were still staring each other down with hostility when the Ravenclaws turned the corner and nearly ran into the battlefield between the two enemies.

The confused Ravenclaws looked back and forth between the two houses, not wanting to break the ongoing silence. Silent as it was, the lack of sound was filled with emotion, carrying luggage that outweighed all of them, and was heavy on their shoulders.

Within moments the Hufflepuffs had come down the staircase nearby, and stood next to the Ravenclaws.

"What is going on here?" Susan Bones demanded. The Ravenclaws winced. Apparently Susan hadn't quite realized how heavy the silence was before she interrupted it.

The silence wore on for a moment as all parties turned towards Susan, then it erupted. Both sides were shout and accusing each other, and no one could tell what the person next to them was saying. Ron and Blaise both stepped up, furious and red in the face.

"THOSE GITS NEARLY KILLED ME!" Blaise roared at the top of his lungs, so everyone could hear him.

"WHAT ARE YOU SAYING?" Ron roared back, temper flaring. "YOU'RE THE ONES WHO SENT THAT SKREWT ON US!"

"Woah, woah, hold on," Lisa Turpin, a Ravenclaw, stepped forward and stood between the two boys, holding them apart. "Now let's settle this quietly. Let Ron tell his story first, since he seems to be bursting with it."

Ron's face flushed even more, if possible, with embarrassment, but he preceded to tell them exactly what was on his mind. "We were on our way down, when we ran into this HUGE, seven-foot _SKREWT_! It took us forever to tame it- Neville's got a gash to show for it! That goddamned skrewt nearly killed us! If it weren't for Ginny and Harry, some of us wouldn't be here!"

"YOU guys set up that trap to send that boulder down on us!" Blaise interrupted. "Thank heavens that it wasn't real, or I'd be dead right now!"

"WHAT?" Ron yelled, defensively, and all of Gryffindor backed him up. Soon both sides were yelling again, both accusations and defense. The Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs didn't know whose side was right, but when Lisa stepped back to stand by Ron, the Ravenclaws started supporting the Gryffindors as well as they could. A couple of older Slytherins realized what was happening and stared some fourth-year Hufflepuffs down, gaining support that way, until the older Hufflepuffs thought the Slytherins' story was more believable… come on, a seven-foot skrewt?

Just as Ron was about to take the first hit, the doors to the Great Hall swung open, and Hermione stood there, face flushed, tight-lipped, and _angry._

"What on earth is going on here?" she exclaimed as the door shut behind her.

This time, no one spoke.

"Could you not make it inside the Great Hall, three steps away, before you started accusing each other of things the other didn't do?" she yelled, outraged. "Where is Draco Malfoy?"

The group of students looked around, and soon the two groups parted and left Draco standing there, wand out.

"Why didn't you stop this?"

"I got here the same time you did," he said, pointing a finger at the lavatories behind him. A few giggles popped up, but were stifled immediately.

Hermione just glared at him before turning around and opening the doors again and stomping into the Great Hall. "Get in, all of you."

A/N: Urugh. This is the chapter fate didn't want me to upload. It took a few tries, but I got it. No worries! Once again, thanks to those who reviewed: _Maliaphire, Elise Bentwin, Rose Mitzkah, Queen Tigress, Kandygurl4, Hoppyeople, The World is a Stage, trackstarbabie1200, Obnoxiously Peachy Twit 2008_, and especially Michéle (who sent an email) and Bec (who made me laugh. Again. XD). You guys are getting this earlier than I planned, so thanks so much. You guys are my fuel. Keep telling me what you like and what you don't, so I know how to change and modify my writing. You guys rock my world.


	8. Two Per House

Chapter Eight: Two From Each House

Disclaimer: I do not own anything Harry Potter, and am not getting money for this.

A/N: I'm sorry for the long wait, but before you bombard me with complaints, I _do_ have an excuse. Well, this time. A helicopter crashed into a power line in Cable, Wisconsin not long ago, and fell into the lake, killing its three passengers: the pilot, a thirteen year old boy, and his mother. The boy was Andrew Thomas Stockwell, a boy whom I've known since first grade, and I've been paired with since then because of our higher-level English, science, and math classes. This resulted in shock, grief, forgetting about the fic, lack of inspiration, and utter loss of ambition. It's taken a while to get on track after the freak accident, which shocked a lot of us into realizing how much is at stake, but I think I've got it. Life must go on. And so shall this fic. So, once again, sorry, and please bear with me. Thanks. Oh, and thanks to my wonderful betas. I really don't like this chapter at all, and it was more spit out than written, but please bear with me. The next one is much better, xD.  
-Scarlett

&&

Hermione paced back and forth on the platform in front of the staff table as students filed in, talking about the encounters and fight in the hall. The ceiling of the Great Hall showed an overcast sky, threatening to rain, rays of sun not even up yet. She sighed as she saw students sitting down at their separate tables, segregating themselves just like they were used to.

"_Soronus_," she said, pointing her wand at her throat.

"Students!" Several students jumped as the Great Hall immediately fell quiet at the sound of her voice.

"Where's Dumbledore?" someone shouted out when the realized the staff table was empty. Immediately, the entire hall was whispering, talking, and, soon, yelling.

"Students!" Hermione cried again, trying to catch their attention. "That is why we're here!" A hush instantly fell over the room.

"I have recently discovered that the staff of the castle are no where to be found," she told them, emitting a gasp from many students' lips. "The house elves are gone, the teachers are gone, Filch is gone, and- you may have noticed this on your way here- but the portraits are also gone."

"That's what felt wrong, Harry!" Ginny gasped.

Hermione felt the students growing restless and paused for a second to let that sink in. "We don't know why, and we don't know how; there are no notes, no clues that we've found. There are dangerous things in the hallways that we need to be protected from. We need people to do laundry, and sweep the floors. We need people to set charms and wards in the common rooms and halls. We need people to cook our meals. We need people to figure out why the teachers are gone. We need to figure out how these dangers got in, and what we can do about them. We need to stay together, to work this out. We need someone to take charge, and we need a council," she told them, and raised a hand to stop the murmurs. "We need two people from each house to be elected. Keep in mind that this is_ not_ a popularity contest! We need you to pick the most responsible people. I will give you ten minutes to chose."

With that, Hermione stepped down and set off towards Gryffindor table.

&&

The Slytherins looked at each other, most with confused looks on their faces.

"The entire Hogwarts staff is gone? Is that why we're out of bed so early, Draco?" Pansy purred.

"I can't believe they'd just get up and leave!" Blaise exclaimed, shaking his head.

"Alright, we need to chose two people for the council," Theodore reminded them; Draco smirked.

"All stand who would like to be on the council," Draco said, standing himself. He watched as Millicent Bullstrode, Crabbe, Goyle, Daphne Greengrass, and Blaise stood up.

"Crabbe, Goyle, do you even know what a council _is?_" Millicent demanded.

They looked at each other and shrugged before sitting down, eliminating two of the six self-proclaimed candidates. Blaise and Draco faced Daphne and Millicent before Daphne sat down.

"If you guys want to be part of the council, that's alright with me," she said with a shrug.

When neither of the three sat down, Draco turned and faced the Slytherin table, and told them how to vote.

"Raise your hand if you want to elect me," he said, counting the hands. "Now Blaise…. alright, and now Millicent. Okay, it looks like Blaise and I will be the new council members, thank you."

Millicent sat down with a humph and muttered something about sexism as she glared at the two boys, who were too busy smirking at each to notice.

&&

Students were still murmuring about the turn of events at the Ravenclaw table until Lisa stood up.

"You all heard Hermione, and what she said was right. We need a council to organize everything, and we need to choose two people from Ravenclaw."

With a swish of her wand, a small slip of parchment and some quills appeared in front of everyone.

"Write down one person, and only one, who you'd like to see on the council, and you may not write yourself. Keep in mind what Hermione said, this isn't a popularity contest, your best friend won't die if you don't write them down. Write down who you think has a leadership role, and is responsible enough to take this part," she explained before sitting down to scribble '_Terry Boot'_ on her paper. Moments later she summoned the slips to her, and sorted them into piles.

"Looks like I came in first, Terry came in second, and Mandy, you came in close third. So Terry and I will be the Ravenclaw representatives. Thanks, you guys," she said with a smile before sitting down to wait for Hermione's next announcement; she was the obvious leader of them all.

&&

The Hufflepuffs looked nervously at each other, quietly thinking about what was going on, and what was going to happen.

"Well, I suppose we should chose two representatives," Susan said, breaking the silence. Her words were followed by nods from either end of the table.

"I nominate Justin," a fourth-year said after a moment of thought. Justin stood up and looked around, fidgeting with the bottom of his shirt nervously.

"I'll nominate Hannah," Eleanor Branstone said timidly.

"And Ernie!" someone else added.

"How about Susan?"

"Alright, alright, I think that's enough," Justin said as Hannah, Ernie, and Susan stood up. "Do any of you not want to be in the council?"

The four students looked at each other and Susan sat down.

"I don't think I'd be up for it," she admitted with a small smile before yawning.

"I'd be alright with it," Ernie said with a shrug, and was followed by a nod from Hannah.

"Alright, I want to know who wants Hannah to be part of the council by a raise of hands," Terry said, counting as hands went up.

"How about Ernie?" he asked as he counted the hands again.

"And me? Alright, alright," he said, totaling the votes. "Sorry, Ernie, but I guess Hannah and I will be a part of the council."

"That's alright, Terry," Ernie said with a smile. "I feel safer knowing you two are on it anyways."

&&

At the Gryffindor table they had decided right away. Hermione, Harry, Ron, Ginny, and Lavender had been nominated for the position, but Hermione had won by unanimous vote the first time, probably because of the leadership she'd shown earlier and her reputation. She'd smiled and blushed a bit when she'd seen the raise of hands, and was very pleased. Even though she had expected to be chosen, she hadn't imagined it would be unanimous.

"Okay, well, we still need a second council-member," she reminded them, and they took another vote, with Hermione out. After a quick count, Hermione smiled.

"Looks like Harry's our new Gryffindor council-member. You think the other houses are ready?" she asked, fiddling with the sleeve of her sweater; she hadn't bothered to put on her school robes, although almost everyone else had.

"I'm sure they are," Harry said, coming to stand by her side. He put a hand on her shoulder to calm her nerves. "Don't worry. We've got this under control."

"I certainly hope so," she said, looking at him over her shoulder. "I don't know what'll happen if we don't."

&&

Hermione walked from her table up to the staff table, and the hall immediately fell silent.

"Does anyone need more time?" she asked, looking around. When it was obvious no one did, she continued. "Will the representatives from Slytherin please make their way up here?"

Blaise and Draco stood up and sauntered over to Hermione, where she reached out her hand and shook theirs. Draco hesitated, but when Hermione sent him a glare no one but he could see, he quickly shook her hand and took his own back.

"Congratulations, Blaise and Draco," she said with authority. "Now will the representatives from Ravenclaw please come forward?"

Lisa stood up and started towards the table when she realized Terry wasn't following. "Terry!"

"What?"

"Get up here!" she hissed at him.

"Oh!" Terry leaped off the bench, but caught his foot and landed face down on the floor, causing a nervous laughter to sweep the hall.

"Uuh," he moaned as Lisa turned around and reached out a hand to help him.

Hermione smiled as they approached. "Glad to see you two up here," she said as she shook each of there hands. Terry scratched his head as he blushed and moved off to the side.

"How about Hufflepuff?"

Hannah and Justin made their way to the front without any injuries, and were soon standing next to the other five council members.

"And Harry and I are the Gryffindor part of the council," she announced as Harry stood up.

"Is there anyone else you'd like to see on this council?" she asked, looking around. Lavender Brown stood up wearily, as did Padma Patil.

"Lavender?" Hermione asked.

"I would like to see Ginny Weasley on the council," she announced to the room with confidence. Ginny smiled and blushed a bit as a chorus of "yeah" swept the table.

"Who disagrees with this?" Hermione asked fairly, and when no one but a couple of Slytherins raised their hands, she motioned for Ginny to join them.

"Padma? Who do you want up here?"

"I think Mandy should be up there, too."

"Does anyone disagree on this tenth person?" Hermione asked, scanning the room. Most people were still half asleep, and this time no one raised their hands.

"Come on up, Mandy," she told the girl. "Now if everyone will just relax for a few minutes, the council will figure out how to deal with the food and wards. No one leaves the Great Hall, I don't want something to happen to them. Now, if the council will follow me." Hermione motioned for a door on the side of the wall, where Harry, Fleur, Cedric, and Viktor had disappeared through three years before.

The council entered a chamber filled with deep red plush chairs and pillows, matching drapery on the walls, a dark mahagony table, and dim lighting. There were two low couches without armrests on either side of the table, both draped with a blanket and pillows. Two more couches were behind the others on an elevated platform, and were just the opposite, and a fifth couch sat opposite the door on ground level.Draco immediately sat down on one of the three couches and was followed by Blaise. Hermione and Ginny sat together on the fifth couch, and Harry sat by Justin on the third ground-level couch.

"All right," Hermione started when everyone was seated. "I think we should separate the students into teams, but the question is: what teams? We'll definitely need a cooking team, and a team to put safety wards on the rooms, especially after what happened this morning."

"We're going to need a team to do the laundry," Lisa pointed out from her position above Harry. "And a team to clean up after meals and in the dormitories. We can combine those into one."

Hermione nodded and started writing on a summoned piece of parchment.

"We'll need a team of researchers," Harry suggested. "We'll need to know about any dangers we might face, and we need to figure out why the staff left."

"Yes, yes. Is there anything else?"

"What about a team that'll be ready to battle another skrewt, or something?" Hannah suggested.

"Good idea," Hermione told her, "but I think everyone should be ready, and all of us could do that. So we've got four teams… good. That means ten people a team, right?" The council nodded.

"What about us?" Draco pointed out. "Do we just sit here on our lazy asses all day? Not that I'm complaining." Blaised laughed along with Draco.

"We'll help out wherever we're needed, and oversee things," Lisa told him as though it was the most obvious thing in the world. Needless to say, that set him back a little bit.

Before Draco could reply, Hermione interrupted.

"Okay, I think that's all we need for now. Let's go have them sign up." Hermione stood up and the rest followed. She explained the teams to the students, and had them go into different corners of the hall for each team, with one in the middle, and soon each of the teams held ten people, and they'd chosen a leader for their group.

Lavender stood up for the cooking committee, which consisted of her, Neville, Millicent, Colin Creevy, Susan Bones, and five other students who had been ushered over when they didn't know where to go. Ron stood defiantly for the team to build the wards. Seamus, Dean, Luna, Parvati, Ernie Macmillian, Anothony Goldstein, and Jimmy Peakes stood behind him, all some of the top students in charms. The research committee was already getting tips and outlines from Hermione, who, no doubt, would be down there most of the time. Padma had taken the lead role there, and led a group of students who were usually organized, and were willing to follow directions and read footnotes. The team that would clean stood with a sulky look on their faces. The group consisted of Pansy, a girl named Orla, Crabbe, Goyle, Romilda Vane, and five other students. It seemed that most people in the last group had been pushed together in order to make all the teams even.

Moments later Hermione had already started shouting orders right and left. The cooks were sent down immediately to start on breakfast. Hermione decided to send Ginny down with them to help if anything crossed their paths, and to see if she could figure out the charm the house elves used to make the food appear on the tables in the Great Hall. The researchers were handed out outlines that Hermione had made before the fighting had started outside the Great Hall an hour or so ago. They didn't need coaxing from Hermione to get them running to the library, followed by a grumbling Blaise, who was their appointed protection. The cleaning committee had been divided up into two teams to gather the laundry and clean the common rooms, and had eagerly accepted Hannah and Mandy for defense and help when they were sent off. The wards team was last in the Great Hall.

"All right," Hermione told them. "We need to decide where to set up the wards, and we need to rank the rooms of highest importance. Any ideas?"

"I think we ought to ward the rooms we'll be in the most, so that means the common rooms, great hall, kitchens, and library," Harry said sensibly, and everyone nodded in agreement.

"I've already started the wards in here," the bookworm said triumphantly. "I only did the doors though. But I'm pretty sure another skrewt that size would be able to make it in."

"Why don't we split up into teams of four for now?" Ron suggested. "Each team can go to a common room and secure that. That way we'll at least have the common rooms secure by this evening."

"Good idea," Lisa added, with her own thoughts. "I can help them with that. Will you go, too, Mandy?"

"Sure," Mandy mumbled, already falling back asleep. "I'll go with."

"Justin and I will go, too," Terry said, speaking up.

"Well, it's settled, then," Hermione said with a smile. It was nice that at least some of the students could think on their own…

"Let's go!" Ron said enthusiastically, enjoying the attention of group leader, as he rushed out the door, his group following him.

"That leaves us," Harry said, leaning on a table as he looked at his two companions. Hermione looked ready to faint. Her eyes were red and her hair frizzier than normal, the bags under her eyes not helping the matter. Draco looked sleepy, but not quite as bad. There were bags, but his eyes weren't half as red, and his hair, of course, never got frizzy. Harry was sure he looked just as bad, and his hair terrible.

"Well, if you don't mind, Hermione, I think I'm going to go help Ron in the Gryffindor common room," Harry said in a daze.

"Sure, sure," she said, shaking herself in an effort to wake up. "Maybe I'll see if they have coffee or something in the kitchens."

"Coffee?" Draco asked.

With a sigh, Hermione said, "Nevermind."

She stood there, leaning against the staff table, wiping her weary eyes as Harry strode through the stoors, flinging them both out in the dramatic flair of the dream world he was already drifting off into. Looking at those doors, Hermione was transfixed. They seemed to trigger a memory… in her daze, it took a moment to realize what it was.

"Oh, shit," she groaned, falling to the floor.

"What?" Draco asked, shaken from his own reverie by Hermione's unusual cursing.

"We forgot something."

"No, I think we covered everything."

"No, no, it was something big," she told him, burying her face in her hands.

"Tell me, then," he demanded.

"Remember Fred and George?"

For a brief moment just long enough to stand out, her question was lead by silence.

"Oh. Shit."

"Yeah. That's what I thought."

&&

A/N: Thanks to the reviewers: Arden Ranger, Rose Mitzkah, Sienna, Kaichai, Lauren, and Juliana, you guys make me world go round.


	9. Get Hermione!

Chapter Nine: Get Hermione!

Disclaimer: Alas, I own nothing.

A/N: I know I advertised this fic as Herm/Draco, but it's been hard to find the ambition for it, and I think that phase is over, and I really doubt I could do it justice without that. So go ahead and yell and scream and hate me forever, but I'm not going to go that way with this fic. I guess you won't know who Hermione will end up with after all. You'll just have to keep reading, xD. But you'd do that anyways, right? puppy eyes Love you guys!  
-Scarlett

&()&()&()&

Hermione ran through the halls, led purely by memory as her eyes threatened to close, Draco following at her heels, finding it very hard to match her desperate, last-trace-of-adrenalin sprint.

"Granger! Slow up! You're going to run into something if you can't see where you're going!" Draco yelled ahead, trying to catch his breath.

"Oh, just try to keep up, Malfoy! We're almost there," Hermione huffed, not wanting to break her sprint in fear of collapsing to the ground.

The early morning sun had just begun to rise, letting light leak in through the arched windows of the passage the two students raced through, a shortcut Ron had found last year after making a few wrong turns. The fresh, crisp September-morning air cleared Hermione's head, slowing the thoughts racing around her head and organizing them. The fresh scents of flowers and various shrubs in the forest filled her up, and gave her some sort of natural high. Allowing her eyes to close momentarily, she dreamed she was laying gracefully in a rose garden, layers of white silk enveloping her body, her brown hair tumbling down her back in curls rather than a nest, petals scattered on the soft, vibrant pillows she lounged on, a bird singing a sweet song in the distance…

"Hermione!" Strong arms caught her before she fell to the ground, jostling her awake.

"Hm?"

"You were asleep on your feet, quite literally."

"Oh," she said with a sheepish grin, "sorry about that. Thank you."

"Don't mention it. Seriously. Imagine what it would do to my reputation," Draco muttered, dusting off his robes and Hermione got to her feet.

"Don't forget that punch I threw in the third year, Malfoy," Hermione said with a hinting tone of malice.

"Didn't know you'd had it in you."

"You'd be surprised what you don't know."

"You'd be surprised what I _do_ know," Draco said, his voice hinting at something they didn't exactly teach in the textbooks.

"Ugh, I did _not_ just hear that," Hermione spat, disgusted.

"Believe what you wish."

"I will. Alright, we're here."

The two students bent over, hands on their knees, and breathed heavily for a moment before regaining their composure.

"Oh my…"

"What is it, Granger?" Draco huffed. "Does my perfection shock you?"

"No, no," Hermione said, a look of concern on her face as she crossed the hall. "Look at these marks…"

Draco followed her over to the door, and tried to suppress a small gasp. The door that was usually perfectly polished had deep claw marks embedded in the wood, and thin strips of wood that had been scraped off had fallen to the floor. Hermione ran her fingers over the deep scratches, her eyes squinted in thought, but it was obvious nothing was coming to her.

"Ow!" Hermione tore her hand away from the door and pulled out a small sliver of wood as Draco let out a snigger of satisfaction. "You think they'd be able to hear us if we yelled? I mean, the door's here, so the room must be in use, right?"

"I think that's how it works. Not sure if they'll hear us, though," Draco told her.

"Fred! George!" Hermione yelled the twins' names. "Open the door! We need to talk to you!"

The two students listened for any sign of movement behind the door, and both laughed at the thump of someone falling on the ground, and the corresponding "Aah!"

"Who's we?" a voice finally said from behind the door.

Hermione looked at Draco before answering, "Hermione and Draco."

"Malfoy?"

"He promises to be good," she informed them, boring her eyes into Draco's.

"Does he, now?"

"Yes, he does," Hermione confirmed, speaking for Draco, much to his annoyance.

"Then I see no reason not to let them in, Fred," a second voice said.

The door creaked open, and an eye appeared, sizing them up, as if to make sure they were who they said. Moments later, the door opened all the way, revealing a well-furnished, red and gold colored room.

"Typical Gryffindor," Draco muttered under his breath.

With a sweeping of his arms, Fred gestured to the room, welcoming them in. The room was furnished with two matching twin beds, two desks, both covered with papers, a magnificent fireplace, a couch and two chairs, and a bookcase covering the expanse of one of the long walls. George was sitting on the couch in front of the fireplace, which housed a roaring fire that was too big for the actual fireplace and the amount of logs placed under it, but somehow kept burning, probably by magic.

"Welcome to our not-so-humble abode. What can we do for you?"

"Fred?" Hermione asked, exasperated. "Have you even _seen_ your door?"

"Yes, thank you, but between you and me, Hermione," Fred said, leaning in to her ear to whisper, "we need to work on your pranking skills."

"Fred! That was _not_ a prank!"

Draco rolled his eyes and started wandering the room, leaving Hermione to do the explaining. He ran his fingers along the books in the bookcase, reading the names to himself as they flashed by. _A Guide to Guilt_, _Pop Goes the Firecracker_, _Annoying the Annoyed, 101_, and _How to Mentally Scar the Heads of Houses_.

"_Might have to read up on that one"_, Draco thought to himself, plucking up the book only to stare at its tiny text and scribbled pictures before putting it back done. _"On second thought, maybe I won't."_

"_What I would give for that cup of hot chocolate. Or coffee, as Granger said. Whatever it is. Sounds good… yes… good…" _Yawning, Draco sat down on the nearest cushion, and didn't even notice when his eyes started to close.

&()&()&()&

"So, let's recap," George said, hands on his knees, leaning into the conversation. "The staff is gone, the ghosts are gone, the pictures are gone, the moving statues are gone, the house elves are gone, and there are dangerous things on the loose around the school."

"That's all we know so far," Hermione confirmed with a nod.

"Great!" Fred exclaimed with sarcasm, slapping his hands on his knees and standing up, forcing his twin and the head girl to look up. "Just Jolly. Magnificent, even."

"Oh, Fred, calm down," Hermione said with a hint of concern.

"Calm down?" Fred exclaimed, running his fingers through his hair. "You really think that a bunch of rowdy kids can take care of themselves for more than an hour? In no time there'll be kids who ought to be in the hospital wing, but there'll be no Madame Pomfrey to take care of them! That'll happen _without_ another freaky attack from lord-knows-what!"

"Fred," George said, standing up.

"Harry's in no condition to be worrying about this on top of everything, and Ginny's too young, and Ron'll make a mess of things," Fred said, his voice and anxiety growing.

"Fred!"

"And should we really let those Slytherins take any charge at all? Lord knows what'll happen to the school. No, wait, I know! KABOOM!" His arms were up in the air, flailing around, as if imitating a volcanic explosion.

"FRED!"

"And- what?"

"Calm down, Fred," Hermione told him as she stood up. "It's not all that bad."

"Yes, it is."

"Fred." George put his hand on his twin's shoulder. "Open your eyes. You see Hermione right in front of you? What do you think would go wrong with her in charge?"

Fred blinked and breathed in and out slowly. "Sorry, sorry."

"No problem, dear brother. The stress of the shop has gotten to you, and you took all that out on us. Not saying that it was enjoyable, just excusable."

"I suppose you're right," Fred admitted with a guilty smile. "Sorry."

Hermione looked around and smiled before meeting their eyes. Leaning in, she put her head between theirs and whispered "turn around."

The sun caught the highlights in the twins' hair as they turned around slowly and put their hands up to their mouths simultaneously as they stifled giggles. Putting her arms around the twins, Hermione smiled and spoke softly.

"There's a sight I'd never thought I'd see," she said.

"I don't suppose either of you have a camera?" Fred asked, the mischievous glint back in his eyes.

"This is the Room of Requirement," Hermione reminded him as she lifted a camera off a nearby table. "It already knows all you'll need."

"I think you deserve to do the honors," George said with a smile.

Hermione curtsied and thanked him as she strode over to the side of the bed and positioned the camera. Smiling to herself, she pushed the button as hard as she could, allowing it to click at a horrendous volume, specified to wake the sleeping boy.

"Hm? What?" Draco murmured as he woke to the sound of three people giggling. Opening his eyes, he stiffened. It wasn't the giggling, or the prospect of falling asleep that embarrassed him. It was the fact that he was curled up under Gryffindor covers, cuddling a maroon pillow with a gold lion embroidered on it that nearly petrified him. Jumping out of bed, he quickly smoothed his robes.

"I trust we will never speak of this again," he said, glaring at the others. His face rapidly changed colors from unnatural crimson to unnaturally pale, even for him, when he saw the knowing smiles on their faces.

"Too late," Hermione taunted, waving the already-developed picture in his face, jumping back when Draco tried to snatch it from her fingers.

"Oh, how I wish you'd do us all a favor and just go drown yourself in the lake," Draco seethed.

"You're just saying that to be nice," Hermione replied swiftly with a smile caked in fake sweetener as she led them out the door, wand in hand.

"She's good," Fred whispered to his counterpart as they followed the two seventh years out of the room.

"Clever can only get so far. We both know it takes the trick you get you in," George said with a smile and a nudge.

"That we do. That we _definitely_ do."

&()&()&()&

Harry slouched down the wall, legs curling beneath him, as he let out a long sigh of relief.

"I wasn't sure we'd be able to hold that last spell long enough for it to take hold," Harry admitted to the group before him, all of which nodded. Everyone else's legs had buckled, willing or unwillingly, and they all sat in the circle they'd been instructed to stand in to perform a certain spell.

"The stuff Hermione book-marked in these texts is hard stuff… I'm not sure it's meant for students to do," Ginny said, looking up from the said textbook.

"Well, whomever it's meant for, we still have to do it," Seamus said resignedly as he lifted himself, with much effort, off the ground and looked for the others to do so.

"Oh, come on," he said, rolling his eyes. "How many more do we have to do, Ginny?"

Ginny sighed, "At this rate, we'll be working until sundown in order to get the stronger basics done. Touchups will probably be needed tomorrow." The group groaned loudly.

"Right. So lets get going," Seamus said, offering a hand to Dean, who'd been sitting next to him. Lifting up Dean, he looked expectantly to the rest of the group, and, by sending them waves of impatience and that you-should-be-guilty look, got them all to stand up but Harry.

"One moment. I think I thoroughly deserve this break," he informed them, eyes closed, pointer finger up signifying the 'one moment'. Seamus looked to Dan and smiled, and before anyone could have seen the smile, the two boys grabbed a hold of Harry's upper arms and hoisted him up, much to his dismay.

"Come on, Mister Boy-Who-Lived. You can handle ol' Voldie, you can handle a few spells," Seamus said, trying to lighten his spirits. When he saw his joke had earned a smile and new determination from Harry, he knew that it had paid off.

"Alright," Ginny sighed, "The next one is even more complicated complicated…"

"Ginny, unless we get more people, I don't think this group is going to be able to do any more spells for a while," Harry said, shaking his head.

Ginny though for a moment before spinning around and facing Jimmy Peakes, another Gryffindor, who'd been able to make it to a class all the way across the castle after oversleeping in record time.

"Jimmy, I need you to go and get Hermione. You know who she is. Here," Ginny fumbled in her pockets. "Use this."

Ginny held out a map and whispered _"I solemnly swear I am up to no good"_.

"Woah, this is awesome," the boy said, entranced.

"Ginny, where did you get that?" Harry asked suspiciously.

"Sorry, Harry, I needed it the other day to find someone. I hope you don't mind."

Harry shook his head and smiled, "I ought to keep a better eye on my stuff."

"Now go, Jimmy! Go!" Ginny quickly shooed him out of the common room to go and find the head girl.

&()&()&()&

Lavender stood in the middle of the kitchen with her hand on her hips, surveying the scene before her. She'd finally finished her lists of things that needed doing, who should do what tasks, how many they had to feed, and what meals they should make. Everyone had shed their robes and gotten right to work preparing food for the day's meals. Wiping the flour from under her eyes, Lavender sighed and ran over to, once again, stop Neville from burning the scrambled eggs they needed for breakfast.

"Hey, Lavender?" called Natalie.

Lavender quickly took the frying pan off of the stove before replying, "Yes, Natalie?"

The young Gryffindor strode over with a look of concern on her face.

"How are we going to get the food on the tables?"

Lavender stopped where she was, frozen on the spot, as she realized what she'd overlooked. They couldn't possibly bring all of this food up from the kitchens without it turning cold, or being dropped.

"Lavender?" Neville asked, trying to scoop up the eggs from the pan the girl was holding.

"Oh, sorry, Neville."

"No problem."

Susan strode over to where Natalie and Lavender stood, wiping her hands on a dishrag.

"What's wrong, you guys?" she asked when she saw the looks on their faces and their awkward stances.

"Susan, do you know how the house elves get the food from the kitchens to the tables?"

Susan thought for a moment before answering. "I think I read it somewhere in _Hogwarts, A History_, but I honestly can't remember."

"_Hogwarts, A History_… that sounds familiar," Lavender mused.

"Isn't that that book Hermione's always rereading?" Neville asked, looking up from his eggs, and consequently burning them.

"Yes, yes!" Lavender clapped her hands together and jumped. "Someone go get Hermione, quickly now! Breakfast is almost done!"

&()&()&()&

"AAH!" Pansy screeched, leaping away from the curtains in the boys' dormitory.

"What is it, Pansy?" Romilda asked, running over to her.

"What _are_ those things?" Pansy pointed a quavering finger at the curtains, which had started to move.

Romilda grabbed a broomstick someone had laid out on the floor and poked at the curtains, ducking and screeching as a miniature elephant creature with wings flew out and bared its teeth before flying back into the curtains.

Crabbe, who had been watching the scene, flexed his arms and grunted. "I'll get rid of 'em."

Pansy clutched her manicured hands onto Romilda's tiny arm, and the girls backed up, still clutching each other. Their eyes were wide with fear, but, sadly, none of the admiration Crabbe was volleying for. He was just one of those guys who was overlooked, no matter how hard he tried. Which, admittedly, wasn't very hard.

Reaching out his brute-like arm, he grabbed the bottom of the dark green curtain stained with spots of who-knows-what, and lifted it up, snapping it to get the creatures out. And it did, alright. They buzzed around frantically for a moment, and most of them found the other curtain quickly enough, while a few decided to go after their attacker. When Crabbe saw their tiny, sharp fangs, he first laughed, but his eyes soon grew wide as he saw them coming after him, and he turned around to run, but caught his foot on the dropped broomstick, and he fell ungracefully to the floor with a loud thump.

The two girls screeched and backed into a corner, closing their eyes.

"No, no, no, don't let them get me, don't let them get me," Pansy pleaded to no one, and Romilda whimpered beside her. When the buzzing stopped, the two girls opened their eyes to see Crabbe slowly standing up, his eyes puffy, his skin bearing tiny scratch marks and spots of blood. He looked himself up and down.

"Guess I dint get 'em," he said with a shrug, and winced while doing so.

"Oh, dear," Pansy gasped. "CREEVY!"

There was a thump in the next room over, and soon the younger Creevy appeared, dusty from head to toe.

"Yeah?"

"Creevy, go- go get Granger," Pansy said, breathing a bit heavily from the scare, and still not taking her eyes off of the older Slytherin.

"What? I can't hear you."

"Go get Granger!" she yelled, tightening her grip on the other girl as Crabbe's scratch marks started swelling up at a rapid pace. Dennis looked for what she was looking at, and as soon as he saw the feared Slytherin, he dashed out the door, but not before his robe managed to get snagged on the corner of it. The door closed, and those inside heard a small thump before the door opened again slightly and the piece of fabric disappeared.

"She'll know what to do, right, Romilda?"

The Gryffindor nodded before realizing Pansy couldn't see her.

"Yeah, she'll know. She always does," she said, more to her own comfort than that of the Slytherin's.

&()&()&()&

Walking down the hallway, Hermione had decided to walk ahead of the group. She found that here it was easier to just to drown out the ferret's complaints and not listen. It took great effort to put each foot forward, and she couldn't imagine how Draco managed to do that, _and_ talk at such a rapid, annoying pace. Though his words had turned into mere buzzing, they were still dreadfully annoying. When had her feet gotten so heavy? They weren't swollen… it must be her boots. Maybe she stepped in something, and hadn't realized it. No wonder they were heavy. Hermione looked down at her shoes to see what was on them, and immediately became dizzy as blood rushed to her head. She reached out and grabbed the unlit candle bracket on the wall to steady herself. George- or was it Fred?- asked her something, but his word's were just buzzes, like Draco's. Thumping told her someone was running. Her eyes went in and out of focus, and she blinked to try and refocus them, but it didn't help. The stones on the floor began swimming, and soon they weren't separate any more, just one big gray slab on the floor. Everything grew dark, and she realized what was happening. Her body was shutting itself down. She hadn't allowed herself to sleep… Oh, stupid Hermione! Stupid, stupid, stupid… stupid… stu… pid… With a yawn, she fell to the floor, and this time, no one was there in time to grab her.


	10. IMPORTANT

!IMPORTANT!

Author's Note

I, Scarlett Secret, am resigning from the writing of this story**. But don't freak out**! Just hear me out and read **until the end**, okay? First of all, I have very little time to write. I'm enrolled in a bazillion extra-curricular activities, and am often at the school from seven thirty in the morning until five thirty at night. And, sorry, but I have a life on the weekends, too. It's just not working for me. And secondly, I'm over my fanfiction phase. cringes Please don't hurt me. I love you, I swear! You guys are awesome and gave me confidence, butterflies, and some of the biggest smiles I've ever had. But I've moved on. It's a turning point for me, and while I don't know where I'm going, it's probably not back to fan fiction.

Now, see, here's where you don't totally freak out. I told my friends this, and one of my best friends wants to take over the fic. She's been an amazing beta and is much better at writing more of the romantic stuff. No worries, I'm going to give her an outline of what I thought the story would be like, and all the planned pairings and everything. She will still be using this penname to avoid any confusion, so it'll be a joint account if I ever want to write anything again. And if I do, it'll be at the top of the page, otherwise, it's hers. She doesn't have a penname, so I can't give that to you, sorry. But she's awesome; I swear it. Keep in mind she's got an even busier schedule, since she's in Seussical the Musical for a couple more months, but she's much more dedicated than I am. I'll still beta her every chapter, but this will be her first fic that I know of, so please, helpful criticism.

I can't think of anythings… This feels so weird to be typing this… but fanfiction just isn't a part of my life, nor day, anymore. I really really do love you guys though; I can guarentee you'll love my little Kelly just as much as you loved me. Never more, though. poses I mean, who could love _anyone_ more than me. awkward silence Okay, shut up. Love you though… maybe I'll write some chapters in the future. But for now, goodbye!

-The Scarlett Sectret, AKA Kate. (AIM: xRockkmyworld. And keep the two "k"s. Otherwise you'll contact a twenty eight year old man from Jersey with girl pictures on his myspace and will tend to swear at you.)


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